Bleach: PURE
by Torisutan-sama
Summary: Continuation of the story from the end of the Hueco Mundo Arc onwards, with as much canon storytelling as possible. Plenty of drama, plenty of action, and romance. Update: Formatting Fixed, WARNING "Mature" content coming. REVIEW PLEASE!
1. Late to First Period

**A/N: Hey everyone, welcome to my story. This takes place a couple weeks after the last battle in Karakura against Aizen. Aizen wasn't killed, just defeated. Ichigo is going through his usual emotional turmoil, and his friends are trying to figure out how to help him cope and grow stronger. He is also beginning to realize his feelings for someone... But more on that later. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and review! I won't be adding author's notes very often, if at all, unless I get some great reviews...**

Birds chirped outside the Kurosaki Clinic's second floor window, signaling a new day of Ichigo's hectic life. He slowly pushed himself out of bed, scowling at the sun as it poured through the glass, illuminating his vibrant hair as well as the mess every teenage boy calls a room. Trudging over to his dresser, he pulled out the first items he saw and walked out his door to take a shower, pausing only to knock lightly on his closet and wake up the sleeping shinigami inside.

Inside the bathroom, he undressed and gave a quick glance at the mirror. _Man_, he thought, looking over his heavily bandaged torso, _that Hollow last night put up a helluva fight_. Slowly unwrapping the bandages, he winced as a few wounds were re-opened, but completed the task and stepped into the warm shower. As he washed away the grime and blood his mind wandered to the years before that night when he met Kuchiki Rukia, shinigami.

_God my life was boring,_ he chuckled, _although, I can't say I don't miss coming home without internal bleeding. Pops may be a doctor, but I don't think he'd be okay knowing I think 'getting clawed up by hollows' is a gift compared to the usual 'accu-organ-puncturing' treatment_.

Rinsing shampoo out of his hair, he stopped, "I could never go back to that," he realized. "Now that I can finally protect everyone, I could never go back to that life and be okay with it. Hell, even if I didn't remember all of this I'd still hate that life."

He ended his shower and quickly toweled off, reapplying the bandages Rukia had carefully wrapped him in earlier that day (it had been midnight when they got home, so technically it was morning, right?). A small grin appeared as he thought of the little raven-headed shinigami he worked with. She had the cutest look on her face when she healed-_WAITAMINUTE. Cute? No, I definitely did NOT call that little monster 'cute'. Bad!_ he scowled as he walked up the stairs, attempting to push such thoughts out of his mind.

He entered his room and noticed Rukia hadn't even left her closet yet, even though they needed to eat breakfast and leave in the next ten minutes if they were to get to class on time.

"Oi! Rukia! Wake up already, dammit!" the scowling boy yelled, pounding on his closet door.

_Shit, _he thought angrily, _she's gonna make us late! Ochii-sensei warned us if we're late today we get extra work! Dammit Rukia!_

Of course he didn't mind the extra work for himself, he was smart enough to finish anything that crazy woman assigned before school got out. He was more worried about dealing with that midget and her infatuation with kicking his shins til he did HER work as well. Oh yes, many nights had he spent doing twice as much work while she was "forced" to lay on his bed and read manga. _Bitch._

He huffed, "Rukia, I'm not gonna do the extra work we're gonna get for being tardy for you! So hurry the hell up already!"

"I-I'm not coming to school today, Ichigo. I feel ill. Perhaps that hamp-urger you bought me last night was poisoned?" called out a nervous voice from within the closet. "Yes, that must be it! Well, nothing to do but sleep it off I suppose!"

Ichigo could have boiled water with the heat of frustration in his mind.

"I told ya a hundred times, its a HAM. BURGER. HAMBURGER!" he shouted. He always had to tell Rukia exactly thirty-seven times how to pronounce words properly, no matter how simple they were. Yesterday had been mortifying to say the least. She kept asking what a "hamp-urger" was urging when we went to the BurgerLounge, in in front of all our classmates! He shook his head, clearing those memories away. "Eh?" he asked, knowing full-well it wasn't food-poisoning. He smirked, "Tsch... Lemme take a look at ya then, I know the signs of food poisoning, not that I'm buyin that 'food-poisoning' crap!"

Rukia's voice squeaked a little, "No! No, it's um... It's fine, I don't need you to come in. In fact I just realized that I must have caught a cold! Y-yes, that's it! A cold. No worries, I'll just stay here and tomorrow I'll come to school, okay? Goodbye Ichigo!"

"The hell? Rukia! You're in a gigai dammit! You CAN'T get sick!" Ichigi cursed, ignoring her continued insistance to not open the door, and slid open his closet. Instantly he regretted not just leaving the brat.

*THWACK*

"YOWWWWWWW!" howled a now bleeding Ichigo, holding his head where the little but strong foot had hit him. "You little...! What was that for?"

"I told you not to come in Ichigo!" yelled Rukia, covering up something on her brow while clenching her arms to her stomach. "I look hideous with this... This 'thing'! My sides hurt and I cannot move! I cannot attend class like this!" she wailed.

Ichigi leaned closer and ignored her protests, moving her hand away to see what she was hiding. His face was only inches away from her own, and a small blush began to creep into her cheeks. Ichigo suddenly realized their proximity as well and, with a brief look of embarassment, backed away. He scowled darkly, "You idiot, it's only a zit and a cramp! Drink some freaking water for the cramp, and wait three days for the zit to disappear, you baby."

"What? Three days?" she cried, frantic. "But I have to prepare for midterms, and attend the lectures, and-" she went on with wide eyes as he raised a hand to silence her.

"Look, midget, you aren't skippin class just because you got a zit, okay? I'm NOT going to deal with your 'catching up' to school."

"But I don't want them to see me like this! Stupid Strawberry, you don't understand! I _hate_ how I look already, this doesn't help!"

Ichigo looked at her, sighing as he thought of how to console the obviously distraught Shinigami in his closet. And also how to best drag her out so she wouldn't be able to get any blows in, as he knew her first reaction being dragged out would be a swift kick to the you-know-whats. "Rukia, don't worry about that, you look... just fine." he said, a slight blush forming as he met her violet eyes only a foot away.

_She looks good, who cares about that zit? Wait! Dammit! What the hell is wrong with me? Why did I just think that? Why do I even care if she comes to class...?_

"Dammit!" he said, glancing at his watch to break his reverie. "Now we don't have time for breakfast!" He dragged Rukia out of the closet (she had dressed while he was in the shower and had just noticed the pimple before he came back) and practically threw her out the window along with her backpack. He met her outside, a disgruntled look on her face. "Don't give me that look, midget. You're face ain't-OW DAMMIT!" he cursed as hopped on the foot she hadn't crushed beneath her own, "You freakin bitch! OW! What the HELL is your problem today?"

"Don't call me a midget! And DON'T throw me out windows, I thought we discussed the throwing of me after you flung me from the Soukyouku like some sort of futtbowl." she said with a look that promised extreme pain if he didn't agree.

"Foot. Ball." he growled, nursing his head after being kicked there only seconds earlier. "Whadya have PMS today or something?" he asked with a sneer.

"Pee-Em-what?" asked Rukia, suddenly curious and no longer violent _(Thank god!_)

"Whaaa?" Ichigo balked, suddenly thrown out his mood by the embarrassment he was going through at that moment,"Um... Rukia, have you ever... Uh... Oh dammit I can't do this kinda crap! Rukia hasn't anyone ever had 'the talk' with you before?"

"The talk? Talk about what, Ichigo?" she asked, truly curious and clueless.

He smacked a palm to his face, wishing for the second time that day he would've just left her at home.

"Don't bother askin' me Rukia, just wait til we get to school and ask one of the girls. Tell them... Tell em you're on your period or something, they'll understand."

"Period? Ichigo, why would I be on the end of a sentence?"

"It's not the end of a - never mind." he sighed. This was a really awkward moment, at least nobody else - "IIIICHIIIGOOOOO!"

Ichigo cursed every god in existence for his horrible luck. Keigo ran up to the pair a block away from school.

"Ichigo! Kuchiki-chan! How are you! Oi, Kuchiki-chan, I have tickets for the conce-OOF!" he was interrupted by Ichigo's fist colliding with his jaw. "Wwwaaagggh! So cruel Ichigo!" he whined, rivers of tears on his face.

Ichigo walked over and bent down to put his face six inches away. "Shut it, Keigo. She can't go to the concert with you." Ichigo stated. It was true, they had a scheduled training session at Urahara's later that day, so neither of them could make some dumb concert.

Unless...

"A concert?" Rukia looked excited, bouncing slightly.

Fuck.

"Hai! It's for Sado's band!" Keigo answered with a gleam in his eye. "We can go together! It'll be like a da-AUUGH DAMMIT ICHIGO, WHY?"

"Stop tryin' to ask her out dammit!" shouted Ichigo, stomping Keigo into the ground in front of the school.

Keigo leered and, unwisely, asked "Why? Are YOU dating her?".

Ichigo answered by kicking him into the nearest tree, roughly twenty feet away. "Hmph! Like I'd date some little midget terror like her!" he said, jabbing a thumb in Rukia's direction. "She's got ZITS too!"

Next thing he knew, he was slumped in front of the tree next to Keigo, a familiar shoeprint on his face.

Rukia gave him one look of pure demonic rage and stomped into the school as the bell rang. Keigo got up and brushed himself off. "Heh, you two fit together perfectly! So violent! Are you sure you aren't dating Ichigo?"

"I said shut up, Asano-san, unless you want this tree to be your headstone..." threatened Ichigo.

"Why so unfamiliar Ichigo?" he cried, ignoring the threat. "My name is Keigo! Call me Keigo!"

The two made their way into class, stopped by the teacher as they walked through the door. "Oh-ho-ho-ho! So Kurosaki-san and Asano-san wanted extra work today, eh?" Ochii-sensei smirked. "That's fine, I just happen to have an extra essay prompt laying around from my advanced English class!"

Both boys sweatdropped, Ichigo turned and gave his best scowl to Rukia, letting her know he blamed her for this. "But Ochii-sensei, we don't know English that well!" cried Keigo.

"Mm, but you must! Clearly you don't know Japanese, at any rate, because I was VERY clear about being late to class on the first day back." she said, handing them each a paper with their prompts.

"Sensei!"

"Shut it, Asano, and get to your seat."

"Hai..."

Ichigo walked over to his desk, sat down, and immediately began scowling at Rukia. He wasn't going to let her get away with making him late just because he called her short. "Oi! Midget! What the hell'd you kick me for back there?"

She sighed and looked over at him, frowning, a Chappy Band-aid covering her zit. "You made fun of me. Honestly, Strawberry-head, you should be used to the consequences by now."

Ichigo was too busy trying to hold back his laughter at her Chappy Band-aid to respond to her slight on his name. "What... What the heck is that?" he chortled, pointing at her bandage.

"This is Chappy, and if you say anything mean about him right now, I promise you'll be covered in these by the end of today." she threatened through gritted teeth.

Ichigo suddenly stopped laughing and replaced his smirk with a look of sheer terror. He suddenly became _very_ interested in the lecture on Japan's impact on the global economy.


	2. Back to Normal?

The rest of the morning passed by as usual, and when the lunch bell rang, Ichigo picked up his Bentō and went to the roof to eat with his friends. Rukia went with Tatsuki and Orihime, trying to remember what she was supposed to ask them.

"Ano... Tatsuki?" she asked once they reached their usual spot.

"Hm? Whaa-ishet?" Tatsuki answered through a mouthful of rice.

"Ichigo told me to ask you girls what it means to be on a period. I didn't understand, and he refused to tell me." Rukia explained as she examined her juice-box, suddenly wishing Ichigo was there. Tatsuki spit out her food and gawked at Rukia.

"What? You mean to say you've never had a period before? Wait, how'd Ichigo find out? Are you, y'know, bleeding yet?" she asked, incredulous.

"What? Why would I be bleeding?"

"Oh for the love of - Okay, so women have eggs..." Tatsuki began explaining the entirety of "The Birds and The Bees" to Rukia, who's face was growing redder by the minute. Suddenly she held up a hand.

"Thank you, Tatsuki-san, but that's all I need to hear for now. Thank you for explaining what a period is, and where to buy products that help with it", she said weakly before wandering off behind some shrubs, probably to gag on the images in her head. She looked up at the roof and saw Ichigo looking down at her with a slight grin. She scowled, probably a better scowl than that stupid idiot _Strawberry_ could ever manage.

He mouthed, "Are you O-KAY?" to her and she nodded. She watched him send a disbelieving look and a smirk before walking back to the group of boys.

_I wonder why he was staring... Bah, stupid strawberry was probably laughing at me during Tatsuki's "talk". Baka._

Rukia wandered back to the group and picked up her juice box, glad she could finally remember how to put the straw in by herself, and equally glad the topic of conversation has moved from womanly issues to a recent romance film from America.

Ichigo, meanwhile, would have traded a discussion about periods for what he was going through any day. Keigo had decided that, after seeing him and the midget together that morning, they were officially a couple. Who knew a human could take that many hits to the head and still retort with a "So, Ichigo - Oww... -Your reaction... it proves EVERYTHING I'VE SA-AAGH!". Ichigo pulled back his fist and with a low growl threatened to teach Keigo the law of gravity if he kept talking. Keigo shut up.

"Ano, Ichigo, if you don't mind me asking, why _do_ you and Kuchiki-san always walk together?" questioned Mizuiro, inspecting Keigo for signs of trauma.

"It's nothing, alright?" Ichigo flailed his arms wildly. "Geez! Can't a guy walk to school with someone without it meaning anything? She just lives the same way as me, got it?"

"Ichigo, relax! I wasn't implying anything, I just wanted to know. Y'know, most of the school seems to think you two _are _a couple. _Do_ you like Kuchiki-san that way?" Mizuiro asked innocently. He was calmly eating his noodles and texting his various girlfriends to organize a party for one of them being promoted to VP of Sales at her company, a sex-toy manufacturer.

"That stupid midget? No way in hell!" shouted Ichigo, perhaps a bit too loudly. "She's always hitting me and asking for help with her work, because KAMI-FORBID she actually do it on her own, and what's _worse_, she's so_short_ she needs a step-stool just to see over the counter at the ice-cream shop!"

"..."

Ichigo blinked. "What?"

"So, you admit you've been to get ice-cream with her?" a barely conscious Keigo asked with a lopsided grin.

Ichigo's face turned bright red, to the point the other guys began to wonder if he might actually develop a case of exploding head syndrome. They all began backing away and made sure to give Keigo in particular a wide berth.

"N-no! I mean, yeah, but it's just not like that dammit!" Ichigo was obviously flustered. "I owed her ice-cream from this one time when she did my homework for me so I could help my dad at his clinic! That's ALL."

Ichigo couldn't believe he'd let such a stupid thing slip from his mouth in the first place. He didn't mean anything by getting her ice-cream, it was really part of teaching her about the living world! That, and it was a sort of reward for them both for fighting hollows day in and day out, and getting out Hueco Mundo alive and with Orihime in tow. In fact, though, the more he told himself that the less he believed it.

_She's been there from the start, I guess. We're pretty close, so we do everything together. Not hard to imagine other people seeing us as a couple... Still, I definitely _don't _like her that way. She's way too annoying, she's short, violent, and even if I _did _like her - which I don't - a cute girl like her wouldn't want anything to do with me. Not to mention she's a shinigami and - WAITAMINUTE - _Ichigo's eyes widened. _Did I just say she was 'cute'? What the fuck?_

He shook his head violently to clear his thoughts and, for good measure, punched Keigo.

"Ouch! Ichigo! I didn't even say anything that time either! Whyyyyyyy?"

"Oh, shut up."

Lunch ended and the groups met back in class, Ichigo was staring at Rukia's empty desk when a certain Raven haired midget decided to occupy the seat. She turned to him and noticed him staring at her, or rather, _through_her, at her desk. She waved a small hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"Ichigo?" she asked, bringing him out of whatever la-la-land he'd gone to.

"What, midget?" he blinked before clutching his shin in sudden pain.

"Don't call me midget. Why were you staring at my desk?"

He started. Why _had_ he been staring, again? He tried to remember that odd day-dream he'd been having, and his face tinted pink when he finally recalled his earlier thoughts.

"N-nothing, don't worry your little head about it. Or should I say, _big_ head?" he replied with a snicker at his own cleverness. The snicker was soon replaced by a grimace of pain and a large red mark where a certain somone had thrown her sketchbook.

"Shut. Up. About. My head. My height. And anything else your stupid strawberry brain thinks is funny to make fun of. Understand?" she added the last part sweetly, contrasting with the cold, terrorizing glare she was giving him.

He gulped. "Understood."

"Good."

"Hm? Kuchiki-san? Kurosaki-san? Do you two have something you'd like to share with the class? Not that we haven't been amused for the past ten minutes anyways..." Ochii-sensei suddenly made her presence known.

In their haste to insult one another they had both failed to realize the bell rang ten minutes prior, and they'd been unwittingly providing entertainment to the rest of the class. Oh, how they wished a Hollow would kill them both at that moment. Orihime had a small frown on her face, while Ishida was shooting a look of disdain, and Keigo and Mizuiro were looking smug. Ichigo made a mental note to kill those two later.

* * *

Unfortunately for both shinigami, no hollows appeared for the rest of the day, and as soon as the bell rang to signal the end of classes they practically flash-stepped out of the room to get home.

The walk home was nice, a cool breeze was blowing and the sun was just high enough to provide light and warmth, but not so much that it was uncomfortable. The two stopped sprinting about a block from the school, deciding they'd put enough distance between themselves and the rumor-mill. Ichigo looked over and found himself unable to speak.

There was Rukia, a small but genuine smile on her face, walking calmly beside him. Her violet eyes twinkled in the sunlight, and the breeze lightly tossed her hair, giving an almost surreal effect when it reflected the light as well. He couldn't tear his eyes away, and eventually she noticed, though she didn't turn to him.

"What is it, Strawberry?" she asked, with no mocking tones for once.

He snapped his head forward once more. Ichigo couldn't bring himself to admit he'd just been thinking of his partner as _beautiful, gorgeous, and everything in-between_ so he settled for a simple "Nothing, midget." His words also lacked their usual bite, and Rukia noticed he too had a smile.

_I like it when he smiles, it makes him look handsome_ she thought, then caught herself. _Handsome? No, no, no, Rukia, Ichigo is most definitely _not_ handsome. Calm? Yes. That's the word. He looks peaceful for once, without that scowl. Why would you say he's handsome? Bah, it's probably nothing._

The two walked in silence, the only sound was the occasional rustle of clothing or the patter of footfalls. It was the first time since Hueco Mundo that they had actually had some quiet time, and they wouldn't dare ruin that by bickering now that they realized they had it. They reached the clinic and entered, Ichigo dodging a flying kick from his father, who crashed into the neighbor's garden.

"MY SON! YOU HAVE LEARNED WELL! OH MASAKI, OUR SON IS GROWING INTO A STRONG MAN TO DEFEND OUR THIRD-DAUGHTER AND OUR GRAND-CHILDREN!" He shouted through the now closed and securely locked front door.

"SHUT UP YOU OLD PERVERT! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Ichigo considered opening the front door back up just to knock some sense into his old man, but Karin (who was sitting on the couch watching soccer) spoke up.

"Ichi, just let it go. He's stuck outside anyways, we'll let him in when he decided to behave like a normal human for once." she said with a bored look on her face, despite not looking away from the game.

"Ah, you're right Karin. YOU HEAR THAT OLD MAN? YOU'RE GONNA BE OUT THERE TIL YA LEARN TO BE NORMAL! D'YOU WANT A TENT? YOU'RE GONNA BE OUT THERE AWHILE!" Ichigo shouted back through the door before walking up to his room where Rukia was already doing her homework. "Honestly, that guy can NOT be my father."

"Oh! Masaki! Our children are so cruel to their loving father! I just wish for their happiness and fertility but my thick-headed son is so mean! He won't even provide us with grandchildren!" Isshin Kurosaki wailed from the street. "Or is it that he _can't?_"

Ichigo _really_ wanted to turn into a shinigami and teach his dad all about Soul Society at that point. Maybe introduce him to a few hollows. An evil grin formed on his face but was quickly wiped off by a swift blow from the insanely resilient old man as he climbed through the bedroom window.

"OH-HO-HO MY BOY, PAY ATTENTION! IF YOU CA-" Ichigo interrupted him with a headlock.

"SHUT THE HELL UP DAMMIT! STOP SAYIN' I'M IMPOTENT!" he yelled, managing to toss Goat-chin back out the window. "AND STAY OUTTA MY ROOM!"

"Ano, Ichi-nii, Rukia-san, dinner is ready..." announced Yuzu from the kitchen.

"Ah, we'll be right there Yuzu, thanks." Ichigo turned to the window and shouted down "Oi! Old man! Dinner's ready, so when you feel like acting your damn age you better get in here or Yuzu's gonna be mad!"

"Alright my son! I'll go in the front door so you and Rukia can-"

"DON'T FINISH THAT!"

* * *

Ichigo slowly made his way up the stairs to his room, stuffed full of Tuna Steak and potatoes, a little dazed from the sudden full feeling, and plopped down on his bed with a contented sigh. He was just about to drift off when Rukia walked in and chucked his math book at him, nearly hitting him in the head.

"Get up and do our homework, baka." she said, with a very serious expression.

"No."

Her eyes narrowed, and a threatening aura permeated the small room.

"What did you say, Strawberry?" she asked with a dangerous glint in her eye.

Not noticing her expression, Ichigo turned away and yawned, "I said no. You can do it this time. I've done both our homework for the past three weeks, and now you owe me some freakin rest."

Big mistake. Somehow in the space of about ten seconds Rukia managed to flip his mattress completely upside down with him still on it, complete the level one binding spell, and shove a pocket calculator into his mouth. Ichigo was now sandwiched between the mattress and the box-spring, wide-eyed, looking like a classic roast pig with a calculator instead of an apple. She smiled appreciatively at her work.

She leaned down and thumped his nose with her finger, "So, Strawberry, you were saying...?"

Giving a defeated groan, he answered, "Alright! Fine... Just get me out of this stupid position..."

Rukia smirked and released him, then stepped aside as he moved to his desk to finish the homework, grumbling something about midgets and how they belong in chocolate factories.

He stared at the page in his textbook. Polynomial functions, derivatives, and quadratics, all in the same pre-test. He could have cried. _It's gonna be a long night..._


	3. Total Recall

Ichigo tossed and turned in his bed, dreaming the same dream that had been plaguing him ever since they escaped Hueco Mundo.

_He was in a large hall, with massive pillars that went so high the light no longer touched them. In front of him was a large staircase leading to two massive stone doors. Behind him was a veritable maze of passageways and pit-traps, and numerous fallen enemies. The Arrancars he had faced so far had been a challenge, but he had still managed to defeat them. Now though, as he entered the room, he wished he hadn't wasted time with them. His reiatsu was weak, his wounds covered him from head to toe, and he was fairly certain the only way to win now was to use his mask, but he had wanted to avoid using that again unless absolutely necessary. A small drop of blood trickled from his brow into his vision. Blinking it away, he moved to the doors, on the other side of which he knew he would find an exit for him and Orihime. A sudden movement stopped him, he narrowed his eyes as he stared ahead._

_A lone figure appeared, slim, relaxed. As Ichigo got closer he recognized it as he fourth Espada. __**This bastard that never shows emotion, he's here? Goddamnit, I don't have time for this!**__ he thought._

_"Kurosaki Ichigo, you have made it further than I expected." he said flatly, not even bothering to look at the shinigami. "I am Ulquiorra Schifer. Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to proceed further. Aizen-sama still needs the girl you came for, and until her purpose is fulfilled-"_

_Ichigo interupted the speech with a chuckle, "Shut it, Ulquiorra. I don't have time for this crap. I'm here to save Orihime, and you aren't gonna stop me."\_

_"You are a fool not to fear me, Kurosaki Ichigo. I will teach you why..."_

The dream continued, Ichigo's sleeping form was sweating as he let out a soft moan of pain. "Ru-Rukia..."

_"She's dead. You are too late to save her. She was fighting the Ninth Espada, alone. You can sense it, can't you? Her spirit-force is completely gone." said Ulquiorra, emotionless as always. He watched with a slight curiosity as Ichigo turned and began to walk in the direction of Rukia's last position. "Where are you going? Don't you want to fight me? Do you not hate me?" he asked._

_"No. I don't want to fight you. I don't hate you. You haven't done anything to me, or any of my friends, so I have no reason to fight you, or to hate you." Ichigo replied calmly, continuing towards the exit._

_Ulquiorra blinked. "You should hate me," he began. "Because I was the one that convinced the girl to come to this world with me."_

_CLANG- "You BASTARD!" screamed Ichigo, suddenly attacking in a rage. "You took her? It's your fault all of Soul Society thinks she's a traitor! It's your fault we came here and had to fight all of you Espada! It's your fault Rukia's DEAD!" he finished, shoving Ulquiorra away before flash-stepping him to slash downwards. "I'll defeat you, and I'll save Orihime, and then I'll save Rukia!"_

_Ulquiorra didn't even blink as a large gash formed on his chest. "Interesting. You seem to have improved since we last met. Perhaps Aizen-sama was correct, you are worth killing after all."_

_Ichigo suddenly released a massive blast of furious reiatsu, and Ulquiorra's eyes widened slightly at the display of power. Only a few minutes before this substitute shinigami had been on the verge of collapse, and suddenly he was producing more spiritual pressure than the top three espada! What was he?_

_"Getsuga..." Ichigo roared as he slashed towards the Espada with Zangetsu, the obsidian blade whistling as it split the very air. "TENSHOU!"_

_A tidal wave of black energy surged fourth from Zangetsu's tip, filling the chamber and swallowing the fourth espada in a blaze of wrathful power. Columns cracked and collapsed, the roof began to cave, and it became hard to breathe, as though even the oxygen in the room had been destroyed by the attack. A moment passed and all that could be seen was dust and smoke, Ulquiorra had been knocked back through five solid columns, and as the air cleared a look of interest could be seen on his face. Ichigo could hardly believe it. That was his strongest Getsuga ever, and the bastard had survived without a scratch! His eyes widened further when the espada spiked his reiatsu and felt the air grow heavy. Ulquiorra sighed._

_"I see. That was all of your strength, wasn't it? Barely enough to harm me, let alone defeat me. You are weak, Kurosaki Ichigo, and now I will end this pointless battle." he disappeared from sight, reappearing directly in front of Ichigo and punching him out of Las Noches and into the desert sands of Hueco Mundo. Ichigo crashed fell onto the sand and fell..._

Rukia slept soundly in her closet as Ichigo turned again in distress, obvlivious to his inner turmoil.

_Ichigo was now standing before Ulquiorra's second release, mouth agape as he observed the new form. Cruel looking wings connected to a bare chest, black liquid seeped down and stained the skin underneath his hollow hole, and a long, powerful tail whipped casually behind him. His eyes had become, somehow, even more lifeless and evil. Ichigo pulled his hollow mask down and began the battle again, only to feel a sudden choking sensation as the espada wrapped its tail around his neck. "Wha-?"_

_"Since you refuse to accept defeat, I can only assume you think you can win. I will show you now what true despair is, fool!"_

_Ichigo's eyes slowly shut, then opened widely as a blinding flash of pain seared through him, Ulquiorra's Cero burning a perfect circle through his chest. As the life drained from his eyes, he had one last thought, __**I guess... I guess I wasn't strong enough in the end. Sorry, Inoue... Ishida... Rukia... I couldn't protect you...**_

_The next thing he knew he was standing on the side of a large skyscraper. It was pouring, and the buildings were crumbling away with every drop of rain that landed on them._

_Ichigo__ said a familiar voice behind him._

_**Ossan? So... I guess this is the end? **__he asked, turning to face his other half._

_No, Ichigo. It is not the end. We, your hollow and I, will not allow you to die. Even now he is fighting the Espada Ulquiorra. His true form has been released, a perfect hybrid between his powers and mine.__replied the spirit as he paced towards Ichigo._

_**Then, wha-**__ Ichigo was cut off as Zangetsu raised a hand._

_Do not think about that now. Your soul is dying, Ichigo, and you must rebuild your inner world once more if you wish to live and protect those close to you. Do you remember? You must find your strength._

_**Ah, I remember. So are you gonna help me this time?**_

_I cannot. It is your strength, and yours alone. We may share a soul, but you are one half to the whole, and you are unique. I cannot touch your power unless you lend it to me, and likewise you cannot touch my power if I do not will it._

_Ichigo looked around as the crumbling pieces of the buildings began turning into large white boxes. __**I guess I don't have much time then?**_

_It does not appear so. Hurry, Ichigo, and rescue the ones you care for. Protect them. Find your resolve, and WIN._

_**Mm. Alright then, guess I have to huh! **__Ichigo said over his shoulder as he began tearing through boxes, desperately searching for the one that contained his... whatever he was looking for._

_Ichigo grabbed a box out of midair and opened it, finding nothing, then tossed it away to go after the next one. Box after box after box he searched, all the while his world crumbled around him and he felt himself growing weaker by the minute. Finally, he noticed a box that had a small black mark on it. Curious, he jumped over and ripped it open. Staring back at him was the hilt of his very first Zanpakuto, stuck through his very first Hollow mask. __**This is... **__Ichigo suddenly flashed to his past battles, recalling how his drew strength from just his resolve and the love of his family. __**My strength... **__he pulled the items out of the box and using the very last of his strength poured reiatsu into them. _

_A blinding flash was followed by Zangetsu's proud voice._

_Well done, Ichigo. You have saved us yet again. You've even made the rain stop, if just for today._

_**Yeah... Thanks Ossan, for everything. I guess I forgot that my strength is my own, and I need to use it to protect the people close to me. I think somehow I got it in my head that my strength came from my friends. Sorry...**_

_Do not apologize. Go back to existence, Ichigo, your fight is not over._

_**Ah.**_

Ichigo gasped lightly, still deep in his dream, as he went back to that moment.

_"ISHIDA? Did I do that?" he asked in confusion, seeing Zangetsu sticking out of Ishida's chest. He turned to look at Ulquiorra and saw his arm and leg were missing. "And I did that as well?"_

_"Yes, Kurosaki Ichigo. But now I will have to end this fight." Ulquiorra answered._

_Ichigo couldn't believe it. His hollow was so powerful. So evil. It had hurt his friend, as well as his enemy. He felt bile rise up, sick with himself for his weakness. "Then, if my hollow cut off your arm and leg, cut off mine as well! It's only fair, since that wasn't me attacking you." he said, ignoring his friends' cries of protest._

_Ulquiorra just stared, hardly believing that the boy had survived death and come back as the most powerful creature he had ever seen, only to offer to purposely weaken himself for the sake of honor. He spoke slowly, "If that is what you wish... So be it."_

_He had no more than leaned forward to move when he felt it. Death. His strength was finally gone, and his form was dissolving into the air of Hueco Mundo, this forsaken desert he had spent his lifetime wandering._

_Ichigo watched as the Fourth Espada dissolved into the air, angry that he hadn't been able to finish the fight on his own terms, angry that he had hurt his allies and his friends, but mostly he was angry that he had been so weak that day._

Sunlight began to filter through the curtains in Ichigo's room that morning, slowly bringing him out of his dream, saving him from his memories. He slowly opened his amber eyes and sighed, letting a small tear fall down his cheek. He glanced over to the clock, which read 6:30, then to the closet, which was still closed. Getting up carefully, he walked quietly out of his room and downstairs to the phone. He picked it up and dialed the number of the only person he could deal with talking to right now.

RIIIIING-RIIIIIING-RIII-click-"Moshi-Moshi?" the voice on the other end answered.

"Ah... It's Ichigo. I need to talk to you."

After a long pause came the answer: "Oh! Um. Alright, come on over, it's Saturday right?"

"Yeah... I'll see you in a bit... Inoue."


	4. An Apology?

*DING*

The timer on the oven went off, announcing its contents were done baking. The chef came over and placed oven-mitts on her delicate hands, carefully pulling the creation out of the heat and placing on a cooling rack to her left. She peeled off the mitts and grabbed a large knife from above the fridge, smiling and humming to herself. It was normal for her to be awake this early, to cook herself food for the day, and even though school wasn't in session today her body clock just went off at 5:30 every morning, so who was she to fight it? As she sliced up her lunch and placed it in a box she wondered how her friends were doing. It had only been a few weeks since they'd escaped from Hueco Mundo and the Gotei 13 had managed to repel Aizen's attack on the living world, and she could tell the others were still a little scarred from what had happened. Placing the knife down on the counter, Inoue Orihime sighed.

_It's all my fault... Kurosaki-kun... Kuchiki-san... Ishida-kun... they wouldn't have been hurt if I..._

_*_RIIIIINNNNGGG - RIIIIINNNNGGG* Her phone suddenly rang, startling her from her guilty thoughts.

Wondering who would be calling this early, she picked up as the third ring began: "Moshi-moshi?"

The voice on the other end was so familiar and yet unexpected she almost dropped the phone in shock.

"Ah... It's Ichigo." _Oh my gosh! Kurosaki-kun? Wha-why is he calling _me_? Whew, just calm down Inoue, it's probably nothing! _"I need to talk to you." _WHAT? He... he needs to talk... to me? Don't get your hopes up, Inoue, you know that's bad..._

Her mood had gone from melancholy to near-heavenly elation. Her crush, the man she'd loved for so long, was actually calling _her! _She had always dreamed of this moment, and such dreams had always left her smiling and feeling warm inside, but here she was panicking and unable to speak! He did sound serious though, so she gathered her thoughts and replied.

"Oh! Um. Alright, come on over, it's Saturday right?" she asked, kicking herself for sounding so dumb on the phone with him. Why couldn't she just be less of a ditz around him for once?

His voice was heavy with some dark emotion, "Yeah... I'll see you in a bit... Inoue."

"Alright! I... I have breakfast here too! Pancakes with chocolate syrup filling and macaroni bits!" she said, glad words were finally coming to her mouth.

Ichigo, meanwhile, was staring at the phone in his hands in shock. "Did... did she say... Uuurrrghh..." he fought the urge to puke and brought the phone back to his ear, saying: "Oh, that sounds very good! I already ate though, and I really shouldn't eat too much, Yuzu says she'll stop cooking if I get fat, so... Haha! Anyways, I'm on my way over now, alright? I'll see you soon." -click-

Back in Inoue's home, she was trembling with barely suppressed glee. Kurosaki Ichigo not only called her - _he_ called _her_ - he was _coming over to her house_. As in, her place of residence, where she was living, and the first step towards a d-... a da-... she couldn't even think the word she was so excited! "Yatta! Ano, I should really clean this place before he comes..."

She suddenly flew into a storm of superhero speed and cleaned every surface in her home, picked up every last bit of clutter, and was just putting the vacuum back in her closet when she heard the doorbell ring. Quickly removing her apron and folding it into a drawer, she ran to the door to let in the man of her dreams, a massive smile on her face. It disappeared as she saw who walked through the door.

It was Ichigo, that much was certain, but this wasn't the Kurosaki Ichigo she knew, the man she loved with every fiber of her being. His scowl was gone, replaced by a much more worrisome frown that reached into his eyes. Speaking of which, she noticed his usually vibrant amber eyes had a deathly quality to them, with large dark rings and bags forming under them. She couldn't imagine a worse state for him to be in without any physical injuries.

"Kurosaki-kun? What's... what's wrong? You look terrible! Is everything alright? Come into the living room and sit down!" she was leading him by the hand - oh kami, their hands were _touching_ - into her apartment, her good mood replaced by worry. She sat him down on the futon and found a place next to him, still holding his hand.

"Please, Kurosaki-kun, what did you need to talk to me about?" she asked quietly, a begging look in her eyes as she tried to meet his. His frown only deepened as he looked away.

"I..." he began, seemingly choking on his words. "I'm sorry, Inoue. I'm so sorry."

She didn't understand. He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? A thought flashed through her head, maybe something had happened between him and Rukia, and he was apologizing to Inoue because he knew how she felt? She sincerely hoped not, but her mind wouldn't shut up. She shook her head to clear it, and asked: "For what? You haven't done any-"

Ichigo interrupted: "I was weak! I couldn't protect all of you... What saved you... That wasn't me. That was my hollow. It took over when I... When I died." his words were thick with guilt and self-pity. A small tear was traveling down his cheek from his closed eyes. "I wasn't strong enough to stop him, and he... he nearly killed Ishida, and if Ulquiorra hadn't attacked when he did, my hollow would have killed you too. I'm sorry I was so weak, Inoue! I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, and Ishida!" he said through gritted teeth.

Inoue could feel the pain he was going through with every word, and it cut her to her core. She couldn't stand to see him like this, so she did the first thing she could think of to try and ease his pain.

She reached over and kissed him on the cheek. As her lips brushed against his impossibly smooth cheeks, her stomach exploded with massive fluttering butterflies and her eyes shut instinctively. His skin was soft, not how she'd imagined, but better. She had kissed him right over his tear, and as the salty taste of it mingled with the sweet taste of his skin, she felt such an intense happiness that if she had died at that very moment she would have been content to spend another eternity waiting for another moment like it.

Ichigo's brain was freaking out while he tried desperately to figure out what the hell had just happened, while Inoue pulled away with a slight blush and small smile gracing her features.

Did Inoue really just kiss him?

His mouth fumbled over the apology as his hands twitched. Oh sure, it _felt_ great, but it was freakin' _Inoue!_ He didn't know what to do, much less say. Fortunately for him, his instincts, honed from thousands of hours of aloofness, kicked in and he... acted like nothing had happened. He continued his apology, going on about how he noticed Ishida was still a little pale from the blood loss - he knew Inoue's powers had restored all the lost blood, but still - and how he had seen Chad actually limp the other day. Chad! Limping!

Inoue was still blissfully unaware of her surroundings, and whatever her Kurosaki-kun was saying... Her Kurosaki-kun... _Huh? What did I just - Oh no! Did I just kiss Kurosaki?_ She noticed her blush and tried to will it away, but was unsuccessful. Her emotions had got the better of her, and now she was sitting in the one the most awkward situations she'd ever had, next to the object of her affections. Kami, she was embarassed.

She finally realized he was still apologizing and blinked. _Maybe he hadn't thought anything of it? That'd be okay, I guess..._ She laid her hand on his shoulder, stopping him with a smile.

"Dont apologize, Kurosaki-kun," she began, meeting his sorrowful gaze. "You came to rescue me, when I wasn't expecting to see any of you ever again. You couldn't have known how powerful he was, that he would... would kill you..." she trailed off, caught up in the memories.

Jumping a little out of her reverie, she laughed: "Hah, sorry! I just started remembering things... Anyways, please don't feel bad Kurosaki-kun, none of us blame you for what happened, and I'm still very grateful you came to rescue me!"

As she finished she became overwhelmed with a sudden desire to kiss Ichigo again, as though he were a drug she had become addicted to after one small taste. She leaned towards him, tilting her head up, and began to close her eyes as she moved within inches of his perfect, untouched lips. His breath tickled her face and she was only an inch away, so very close.

"Inoue?"

She cursed herself internally. How could she be so stupid? Why was she acting so boldly all of a sudden? She had never been this forward with him before now and - "Inoue? Ano... I think... I think I should go."

_No! Don't go!_ she started in her thoughts. _Oh kami, I scared him off didn't I? You're such a fool Inoue!_

Ichigo had stopped when he noticed the auburn headed girl next to him leaning in with her eyes closed, and recognized that as something he'd seen in hundreds of movies and television shows: a kiss. He had, of course, decided that he did NOT need to be going hooking up with someone he was trying to apologize to. He still felt guilty, after all! What if this was some sort of... Stockholm Syndrome thing? He wouldn't take advantage of someone he'd hurt and caused psychological damage to! Especially not Orihime, she was just his friend! Oh sure, any other guy in his situation would be all over her, but he'd never really thought of her that way. Actually, he'd never really thought of her at all, come to think of it.


	5. Broken: The Protector and Shield

It was a cool morning in Karakura town, the birds hadn't started chirping yet, and a light fog hung in the air. The city had a depressing feel cast over it, mirroring the feelings of an odd raven-haired girl walking along the riverbank. Her pearly skin contrasted brightly with the large dark shirt she had on, and her bright pink lips only added to the illusion of a porcelain doll come to life. She moved slowly, as if lost and unsure of where to go, which was almost right.

Kuchiki Rukia sighed absently. Ichigo, her partner and friend, was hiding something from her, and she couldn't help but feel like he was doing it to appear tough. _Baka_ she thought, irritated and sad. _Does he really think I care if he shows any weakness? That idiot has probably forgotten that I've seen him at his weakest and didn't have a problem._

She turned on to the street where the clinic stood, pausing at the corner. Her hair waved a little in the breeze, and a sudden chill overtook her. Holding herself, she decided it would be best to return home and check up on the idiot. _Huh... I called it home..._ she thought with a confused frown, shuffling as slowly as possible towards the place she had lived at for nearly a year. _I wonder..._

Inside the Kurosaki residence, the lights were still off since Saturdays were everyones' chance to sleep in and relax. The front door creaked slowly open and revealed a petite silhouette removing its shoes and stepping cautiously inside. Shrouded in darkness, Rukia tip-toed up the stairs, past the twins' room, stopping in front of a room with the number "15" emblazoned on the doorway.

She couldn't bring herself to knock, knowing that Ichigo would tell her to go away, and that would kill her resolve to ask him what was wrong. She shifted from side to side until she finally made up her mind and quietly opened the door. Normally she would be loud and unforgiving, but she could already tell this was a situation that called for a softer touch. Not to mention the rest of the house was asleep, and she'd have to be crazy to wake up Kurosaki senior. A small blush rose to her cheeks when she thought of what he'd think, seeing her in Ichigo's room this early. That big pervert.

Ichigo was face down on his bed, his sheets twisted around his legs, one pillow on top of his head, sandwiching it to the mattress. Rukia was fighting every urge to pick up the pillow and whack him with it for laying so stupidly.

_How am I going to deal with this?_ she wondered, standing in the middle of the room. Her brow furrowed as she thought of all the different ways to fix this broken strawberry. She was so lost in thought she didn't even realize when he turned over and started staring at her.

"Rukia."

"..."

"Oi, Rukia."

"..."

THUMP

"Hey, midget, listen to me when I talk to you dammit!"

Every fiber in Rukia's being wanted to beat the ever loving shit out of the fool, but she willed herself to be nice, even if just this once.

"Rukia, what the hell are yo-" a small hand raised up to cut him off. He was surprised but let her continue.

"Ichigo," she began. "What's wrong with you? You seemed fine yesterday at school, and the past few weeks since we returned from Hueco Mundo were all normal to me. Why the sudden change? Where did you go this morning? Does it have something to do with this foolish mood you are in?" she asked her questions rapidly in one breath, meeting his eyes the entire time before looking away as she finished.

That had been harder than she expected, meeting his eyes. Those amber pools reflected so many emotions... Sadness, fear, anger... And one she knew all too well: guilt. Her eyes widened.

_Why would he be feeling guilty? Not from earlier, that's not enough..._ she wondered. The frown on her face became more pronounced, since Ichigo hadn't answered her questions and she was already drawing conclusions.

"Ichigo, what is it? Tell me!" her voice rose a little.

Amber met violet.

"Rukia, it's..." he began, then sighed. "It's nothing. Don't even worry about it."

Rukia was nearing the edge of her patience, and her teeth couldn't take much more grinding. Her eyebrow rose threateningly as she spoke. "Nothing, huh? Then why the hell are you being so quiet? Normally when I hit you all I get is an earful, but today I got nothing. You tell me what's wrong or so help me..."

Ichigo turned back over to lay on his stomach, his words muffled slightly by his pillow. "So you think fighting with you is better than me just going along with it? You're kidding me, right?"

That was it. She couldn't bring herself to hit him, but she wasn't getting anywhere with the idiot and she didn't need the stress when they still had Aizen lurking around. She walked to the door and opened it roughly before turning around with an angry glare. She spoke through her teeth, careful not to yell still.

"You know what, Ichigo? That's fine. If you don't trust me with your problems, when I've been through hell with you, FOR you, then I don't care. I thought we were friends, more than just partners at this point. Forgive me for being so bold," venom laced every word she said. Slamming the door shut, she stomped back downstairs and out the front door. She was so angry and... yes, even a little hurt that Ichigo wasn't sharing his pain with her. It sounded stupid, she knew, but she had thought that after everything they had shared he would have trusted her with anything.

_That stupid Ichigo! Why is he always hiding his problems?_

She didn't stop walking until she'd reached Urahara's shop. Jinta and Ururu were already up and "sweeping" which she already knew was just a ruse to make the deadly mod-souls seem like harmless children. Ururu waved and Rukia returned the gesture as she slid open the front door and walked in. She knew Urahara would be expecting her, since her reiatsu was probably all over the place at the moment. She looked around and, not seeing anyone in the main room, went into the dining room.

A tall, blonde man was sitting casually against a cushion, sipping tea from an odd frog-shaped mug. He was wearing a green hayori with white accents, an odd green striped hat, and edo-style clogs. He grinned at the familiar visitor, waving a fan around as he greeted her in his usual peculiar manner.

"Oh-ho! Kuchiki-san! I am so very honored to have you grace my humble shop once more! What can I do for you?" he hid his face behind the fan.

Rukia hadn't actually been sure of what she needed so she was honest. "I... I don't really know, Urahara-san. I came because of Ichigo, actually."

Kisuke Urahara grinned behind his fan. "So, did you two finally confess to eachother?" he asked in a sing-song voice.

"Wha-? NO! You idiot, it's nothing like that!" Rukia was blushing now despite her mood.

"Ah-hah-hah... Relax, Rukia-chan, I was only joking! Now, tell me. What's wrong with my favorite student?"

She held her arm as she answered, still morose: "It's... I can't be sure. It seems like he's blaming himself for something, but... I can't tell _what._ He was fine the past few weeks, I thought, but this morning he just left without saying anything. I checked to see if a hollow had arrived, but no reports were on my Soul Pager, so I don't know whaere he went. I met him on our street - _oh I did NOT just call it 'our' street'... what are you saying, Rukia? - _and he seemed..." her voice trailed off, unsure of how to describe it.

"Hurt. Guilty. Angry?" Urahara filled in the blanks. Rukia just stared.

"Wh-yes... How did you...?" she asked.

The quirky shopkeeper just smiled and waved his fan. "Oh, well, in my business it pays to know about certain _things_," he added cryptically.

"Things? What things?" Rukia was curious now. "Did something happen to Ichigo recently?"

"Ehm... nope!"

"Then why is he acting differently? Damn you Urahara, so help me, if you don't spit out the truth-!" she threatened with a raised fist and twitching eyebrow.

Urahara suddenly dropped his happy-go-lucky act. Staring at Rukia with his piercing gray eyes, he seemed to be trying to evaluate her, to see if she as ready for his answer. Rukia's mind was already creating a backlog of questions, but fortunately she knew the man would answer all of them if she stayed silent. He finally spoke.

"Kuchiki-san, do you remember what happened in Hueco Mundo?" he asked, still not breaking eye contact.

Caught off guard at the question, she stuttered. "U-um.. Yes. I think... I think I remember everything. Was... Was there something I missed?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, there was something very important, and I believe it is something Kurosaki-san will still be quite upset about." he answered, rustling in his pocket to grab something. He pulled out a shard of something white and bony... Almost... _A piece of a hollow? What is he... _Rukia was shocked to see it. After all, didn't hollow fragments disintegrate after being separated from their owners?

"Urahara-san, what is that doing here?" she asked, eyeing the shard suspiciously.

He held it out to her in his palm. "Touch it." he commanded. With a slight hesitation, she reached forward and touched the fragment with her finger. Instantly her mind flashed with images of a horrific battle. Giant black wings filled her head, utter darkness enveloped her sight, and she fainted in the middle of the dining room. She relived the entire battle between Ichigo and Ulquiorra as though she were Ichigo. It was tearing her apart to see him bleeding so badly. When Ulquiorra fired a cero through her - Ichigo's - chest, she begged for the vision to stop. _He went through all this? Oh kami... Ichigo, I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help you!_

Suddenly the vision distorted as massive reiatsu pulsed outward from what was formerly Ichigo. She was seeing things in third-person now, and could barely hold in her shock at what Ichigo had become. A large mask adorned his head, with two wickedly curved horns piercing forward from the back. His spiky orange hair had grown into a flowing mane, and his hands and feet grew into evil looking clawed things. He looked like something she had only heard of in history books from the Acadamy... _A Vasto-Lorde... A demon of unimagineable strength... This is what Ichigo became to defeat the Fourth Espada?_

She watched with horror as the beast that was her friend and partner took Zangetsu and cleaved the fourth espada in half from shoulder to waist. The poor creature was forced to the ground, its head crushed into the pillar they fought on. The demonic beast above it brought his blade to the fourth espada's throat. Rukia heard a voice, and looked around. _Ishida!_ she saw him running over and placing a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, begging him to stop, in order to save his humanity. She gasped as, in a flash, Ishida was impaled by Zangetsu. _Oh, Ichigo! Your hollow did this, didn't he! No wonder... Ichigo... you..._ Rukia was in tears, just wanting the dream to end when Urahara's face replaced the images in front of her.

"Are you alright, Kuchiki-san?" he asked, propping her up against the wall. Tessai was in the room with blankets and a washcloth. She moaned and looked at the frowning shopkeeper.

"What... what was that?" she asked, her voice trembling from the emotions she was still processing.

"I'm afraid that was a portion of Kurosaki-san's new hollow mask that you saw. Ishida-san recovered it for me and explained what happened. I believe Kurosaki-san may have lost something more important to him than anything else in the world when he struck Ishida-san. I think he may have lost his humanity."

Rukia's breath hitched in her throat. "His... humanity...?" she questioned, not sure she understood.

"Ah... The very thing that gives him his power. Surely you noticed that Kurosaki-san needs something to fight for in order to achieve his maximum strength?"

She thought back...

* * *

"YUZU!" the orange haired teen screamed. A little girl was being held in the hand of a massive Hollow, slowly crushed by the strength of its grip. The boy was still locked in by Demon Magic, and could barely move. Rukia wondered how he could move at all, but dismissed it as poor performance during the casting of the spell. She warned him, "You fool! You can never break the seal of Demon Magic with human strength alone! If you force it your spirit will-!" she couldn't speak as she witnessed the most astounding rise in strength she had ever witnessed. The boy roared, anger pulsing out of him like a tidal wave of rage at the sight of his sister being harmed. 

The seal broke, an unbelievable feat to Rukia, and the boy charged forward with his bat only to be knocked aside by the hollow. The hollow lunged at the teen, but Rukia leaped past it, leaving a deep gash in its arm and causing it to disappear for a minute or two. She remembered explaining to the boy about how his spiritual pressure had attracted the hollows, and how he had seemed so shocked, and angry. He had blamed himself for putting everyone in danger, she recalled. When the hollow returned, the teen was waiting. He offered himself to the hollow, and just as he was about to be devoured Rukia jumped in the way and protected him. Something about the way he selflessly defended his family, the way he looked at her with that fierce determination... His resemblance to... She felt the need to rescue him at any cost, even if that meant her life. 

As she dragged herself across the concrete, waiting for the hollow to attack again, she came up with a last ditch plan. It was reckless, but it would work. It would have to work. She had explained all the details to him, and when he agreed, he plunged her Soul Slayer into his heart, followed by a brilliant flash of raw power and newly released strength. The hollow had died quickly, but not before the boy told it why it was dying. It had attacked his family, he said, and for that it would face his wrath.

* * *

She remembered... Ichigo had been fighting to save his family. He had lost his mother already, he wouldn't allow anyone else to be lost. They... they gave him a reason to fight. She continued to think of Ichigo's strength...

* * *

-CLANG- "HHHHYYYYYYOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!"

The roar of the Soukyokou as it collided with something between her and the massive phoenix caused her to open her eyes. She couldn't believe it. The amber eyes smiling, completely relaxed as the body held off the power of one million Zanpakutos. It was utterly ridiculous, and at first she wondered if in the moment before death she had imagined being rescued. When his voice reached her ears, however, she had known he was real.

"Hey, Rukia." smiling that genuine smile, the one she only saw when he had succeeded in something, he spoke.

"Ichigo!" she had been so stunned. "Baka! I told you not to come! I told you I'd never forgive you if you followed me!" a tear trailed down her cheek, evaporating quickly in the Phoenix's heat.

"Tsch... I already told ya. All your opinions are rejected." and with that he prepared for the halberd's second charge. She watched as ropes came from the ground below and restrained the giant bird, then destroyed it with a powerful burst of Kidou. Ukitake-taichou and Shunsui-taichou had betrayed Soul Society... for her... Before she could comprehend everything, she watched as Ichigo destroyed the Execution Cross with a single strike, with his shikai form, too. It was incredible. The blue energy glowed in his eyes, and those deep amber pools that had already pierced her soul became raging infernos. 

She wasn't afraid though, she felt... protected. She felt like nothing could ever hurt her when he was like this. Like he could take on all of Soul Society at once and win. She had no doubt of that now.

Rukia smiled as she remembered that day, and realized that Ichigo had only been that strong because he was protecting her. _So he came there to protect me, and because of that he got even stronger. He even got Bankai to protect me!_ she thought as she recalled hearing from her Nii-sama what happened after she was carried away by Renji. _Ichigo... your strength relies on the ones you care about..._

She was standing in a field of white, staring at Ichigo. He was looking back with... fear? No, that couldn't have been it... Worry? Knowing him, probably. She felt her body move against her will, faster than she could have imagined possible. -CLANG- The massive scythe she wielded struck at him. She reversed it and brought it up, nearly severing his arm. Stabbing out with the sharp handle, she drove him back. She wanted to stop, she did, but whatever was controlling her wouldn't let her.

Rukia was forced to watch through her own eyes as her possessed body cut Ichigo's form. Blows were traded, and he wasn't fighting back, only defending himself. Finally, they separated to catch their breath. She tried to will herself into controlling her own limbs, but to no avail. Looking up, her eyes widened as Ichigo began to charge. Her body responded in kind, and then... pain. She could finally control her own body, but Zangetsu was stuck through her heart, pouring Ichigo's very soul into her much the same way she had channeled her energy into him so long before. She looked up.

Up.

There.

His eyes were glowing with that same passion as before, the same drive to protect. She felt his reiatsu wash through her and heal her wounds as he withdrew the obsidian blade. She collapsed into him, still weak from the exertion.

* * *

That day, too, Rukia had seen that Ichigo's inner strength was only limited by the strength of his desire to protect. He could defeat any opponent to protect his nakama, even his nakama themselves.

_Ichigo, you protected me so many times... Please just let me protect you this once. Let me be the one to defeat that which you cannot... For all our sakes..._

_

* * *

_

Urahara watched as Rukia dozed, smiling to himself. He knew she was okay, he could tell from the smiles that graced her face every so often. He felt bad about letting her touch the mask fragment, but he knew she would need to see for herself what Ichigo had gone through in order to really understand. They were a curious pair, those two. Rukia would constantly hit the poor boy for being foolish, but he wouldn't put up with any of her nonsense either. In many ways they were like himself and a certain ex-Secret Mobile Corps Commander... A commander who happened to be away at the moment, sadly. He sighed; he missed her. He knew she was doing important things for Yamamoto though, so he let it slide. Last he'd heard she was scouring Hueco Mundo with her old subordinate, Soi-Fon. They were looking for any traces of Aizen and his supposed Vasto Lorde army. He felt the white shard in his pocket and closed his eyes.

Vasto Lordes... from what he had heard and read, everything about them fit the description of this beast that Ichigo had become. If that were the case... He whipped out his phone and, walking to the next room, placed a call. He didn't wait past the first ring before a voice answered on the other end.

"Kisuke Urahara! How pleasant ta hear from ya! How's things been in the ol' town, there?" asked the familiar and quirky voice.

"They're not good. Gather the others. Our... problem... just became alot more problematic." was Urahara's only reply.

The other voice shifted tone quickly. "Alright, we're coming. Is he willing?"

"I believe he will be."

"What do you mean, 'will be'?"

"He's... he lost his pride, if you can understand that."

"Eh? Whatever. It's good enough for me. Have him at the spot in two days. We'll talk then." -click-

Urahara closed his phone and sighed. He looked through the doorway to the still sleeping Rukia, frowning.

"Kuchiki-san, it's time to wake up!" he announced, putting on his cheery facade once more.

She stirred. "Unh... wha..? Oh, Urahara-san! I'm so very sorry! How rude of me!" she apologized as she wrung her hands in front of her.

"Hah! Not at all, Kuchiki-san! After all, you are my most valued customer! My home is your home!" he replied with a sweep of his hat.

Rukia had finally climbed to her feet and was staring at the ground. "Ano..."

"Hm? Kuchiki-san, is there something you wished to say?

She looked up at him, a look of determination burning in her eyes. "I know what it is that drives him now. I think... I think I know how I can help him."

Kisuke was a little surprised by her answer. He hadn't expected her to care so much about helping Ichigo. Okay, maybe that was a lie. He had _suspected._ But not known for sure. That'd be ridiculous.

"Well, Kuchiki-san, if you know what you're going to do, then by all means! Besides, the shop is technically closed now..." he said.

Rukia's eyes widened, "What? The shop doesn't close til-..." she shot a glance at the clock on the wall. "_Nine?_ How long was... What the hell'd you do to me, Urahara?" she demanded as she began putting her shoes on. She alternated between looking at what she was doing with her feet and shooting angry glares at an amused Urahara. Finally she got her shoes on and ran out the door, not even bothering to question the shopkeeper further. He scratched his hair.

"Huh, guess she wasn't too mad about it... That's always good."

Rukia was pounding pavement to get back home - _agh! There you go again calling it home! Your home is Soul Society, stupid!_ - and was about three blocks away when she felt it. She could barely breathe from running in a gigai, and the suddenly thick air wasn't helping. It was a spirit pressure she had felt before. She tried to remember who it - her eyes widened in the shock of recognition.

A sickening reiatsu, full of hate, and killing intent. She remembered it well. She could practically feel the pain again as she remembered it plunging through her adbdomen. He had come out of nowhere that night. Appeared with a blast of reiatsu unlike anything she had ever felt prior. Ichigo couldn't tell his strength, he was horrible about such things, but she knew. Rukia had tried to warn Ichigo to run away, to save himself, but _he_ had attacked, moving with a speed matched only by Ichigo's bankai, and punched one dagger-like hand through her gut. She didn't remember much after that, only that she woke up to the golden glow of Orihime's rejection bubble, and that Ichigo looked... broken. She had vowed that night to do whatever she could to prevent him from being like that again. Her thoughts were interrupted by that oh-so-familiar voice.

"Hey there, girlie," he stood proudly atop a light-post, blue-green hair shining in the moonlight. He wore a white vest like before, exposing a large hole through his chest. His cat-like eyes bore into hers.

"Grimmjow."


	6. Normalcy

"Hiya, shinigami. How ya been?"

Grimmjow, the sixth Espada, had resurfaced. Rukia was panicking, certain her spiking Reiatsu would be enough to alert her allies, but not sure they'd arrive in time.

Wide, sharp teeth leered at her under predatory eyes. "What, ya think I'm here for _you?_ Hah! I only fight for the challenge, so you ain't even on my radar, shorty!" he mocked. Jumping down from his perch, he landed softly in front of her, cat-like in even that respect.

"Nah, I'm not even here to fight, not this time. Where's that orange-haired bastard? _He's_ the reason I'm here," Rukia was only a little shocked. "I wanted to let him know I've gotten stronger, so that little bitch-sword of his is gonna have to upgrade if he's gonna beat the new tenth Espada!"

He turned, revealing his tattoo, which Rukia noted had changed from a "6" to a "10".

"The tenth Espada? Weren't you -?" she began as Grimmjow interrupted with a snarl.

"Shut up! The new espada are the Vasto Lordes Aizen recruited, so yeah, I'm the tenth. I can still kill all of you, so don't think I'm weak damn it!"

He glared at her, as if challenging her to question him. She decided that fighting him would be a horrible idea, she knew he would win. Before she could speak, he continued.

"So anyways, I was sayin that I've gotten stronger. Well, you let Ichigo know that I'm waiting for a rematch, will ya? Oh, and that if he doesn't come for one when Soul

Society invades again, I'll _personally_ come kill his family."

Grimmjow vanished from sight then, and Rukia felt a sting across her cheek, then a familiar warm wetness trickling down her face as a fresh cut opened.

Grimmjow reappeared on the lightpole, and gave a warning, "You go tell Ichigo about this, or I promise you I'll come back and kill you. Got it?"

Rukia was frightened but nodded. "Kuchiki-san!" she spun to the person calling her. Ishida Uryuu was running towards her, Quincy bow charged and ready. She turned back around and noticed that her visitor had left just as quickly as he arrived, and she couldn't have been happier.

"Kuchiki-san, are you alright? I was patrolling across town and felt your Reiatsu spike a couple times. I didn't detect any hollows so I came to see what happened."

"Ah, thank you, Uryuu." Rukia was staring off where Grimmjow had stood only moments before. _He said if I don't tell Ichigo... He'll kill his family..._

"Kuchiki? What made your reiatsu spike?" the Quincy asked with a suspicious look.

"Grimmjow..." she sighed.

Ishida's eyes narrowed. "Grimmjow? He was here? Where did he go, Kuchiki?" his bow glowed brighter as he tensed up, wanting to fight the Espada who had threatened Inoue.

Rukia only shook her head. "He left, probably to Hueco Mundo again. He came to deliver a message through me to Ichigo," she explained, pointing to the cut on her cheek.

He bent down to inspect the wound. A rare look of confusion clouded his face, "That's a very shallow cut, what was he trying to do?"

Rukia explained the encounter to him, indicating where the espada had stood and snapping her fingers to show how fast he had moved. The Quincy took in all the information and sighed, pushing his glasses up with a finger. Light glinted off the lenses and covered his expression, one of deep concern and a little fear.

"I'll go to Urahara's and report this," he said slowly, turning away. "Get back to Kurosaki's now."

She nodded, and began walking the short distance home when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned and saw Ishida looking at her, a frown on his face.

"Kuchiki. I... I wouldn't tell Kurosaki about this just yet. He's still upset, I think, from some things that happened in Hueco Mundo," he explained. "You know he's brash when he's angry, so telling him now would only result in his departure to Hueco Mundo before the Gotei 13 are prepared to support him, and I fear he would be going there to die," he finished.

Rukia could hear the logic in the argument, and when it coupled with her desire to protect Ichigo from his own self-pity, she realized Ishida was very right. Speaking of whom... "Ishida. I need you to tell me something."

His hand dropped to his side as he looked away. "I... already know what you'll ask, Kuchiki. It was bad, what happened to him. Whatever he became when he defeated Ulquiorra... that demon was nothing but an embodiment of rage and hate. All of his darkest parts came out at once. We needed that though..." he continued. "We needed that aggression and raw power to win. I had hoped he would realize it by now, that his hollow attacking me was not his fault. I should have noticed earlier that the reiatsu was entirely hollow at that point. His own normal spirit was just a speck in the storm. I misjudged and stood up to it, and I got hurt," he added, readjusting his glasses.

Rukia spoke softly, "So, you've noticed it too then?"

"Hai... He hasn't been... himself, has he?" he nodded knowingly.

They both stared at the ground, unsure of what to say. Their friend, Ichigo, had been so torn up over something that he had no control over, and they couldn't do anything to help him. It was unfair. He had always protected everyone, always grown stronger to fight every opponent that came his way, and they had always relied on his strength to come through in the end. Even if they, the two proudest members of the group, would never admit it. Rukia spoke up first.

"He's been... broken. If that makes any sense." Ishida made a small sound of agreement, and she continued, "I have an idea of what can be done to help him. But, Ishida, I'd like you to help too. Could you stop by and talk to the idiot?" she finished, smirking.

He laughed, "Hah, me, help him? Bah. Usually I'd say no, but seeing as how we're going to need his help soon... You have a deal, Shinigami," he said, holding out a hand. She took it and shook firmly.

"Thank you, Quincy. I promise not to mention this to your father."

With that they parted ways for the night, Rukia walking two blocks to get home, and Ishida continuing his patrols. How he managed to patrol each night and still maintain the top spot in class was beyond her understanding. She made it to the steps of the Kurosaki household and noticed a light on in Ichigo's room. Deciding she was curious, she shimmied up the drain pipe and propped her elbows on the window to see what he was doing up.

Ichigo was sitting at his desk, his back turned to the window. She could tell he'd been in the house ever since that morning, his hair was still matted from sleep and his pajamas looked like they hadn't been washed. His head rested on his hands, as he stared at something in front of him. He seemed gloomy, and that was all Rukia needed to steel her resolve and climb the rest of the way through the window. She bounced on his mattress and sat on the edge, kicking off her shoes and tilting her head at the teen. He still hadn't turned around, or even acknowledged her. A small grin appeared on her face. "Ichigo, usually people say hello when they see someone else," she teased. She wasn't prepared for his answer.

"Sorry, I just- I just don't know what I am anymore..."

His voice cracked as he spoke, and he lifted his head and turned to look at her. His cheeks were glistening with tears, and his eyes were puffy and red, as if he'd been crying. Rukia was shocked to see this side of her friend. He normally held everything inside, and the last time she'd seen him like this was when he told her about his mother, Masaki. She got up off the bed and went to him, placing a hand on his shoulder for comfort. "Ichigo," she began.

"You need to understand something, Ichigo. I went to Urahara's. A fragment of your mask had been left behind, and he was keeping it. I touched it and something happened, and I saw everything that occurred in Hueco Mundo. Ichigo, you need to realize that what happened, it's _not your fault_." she explained, squeezing his shoulder. He shrugged her off. A moment of silence passed before he spoke.

"How can you say that? It was _my_ blade that ran through Ishida. _My_ hands that ripped apart Ulquiorra, _my _spirit force that fired a cero point blank," he said, his breath shaky, his eyes shut tight. "I turned into a monster, Rukia. How can any of you even stand to deal with me? I went to Inoue's this morning," he explained, finally answering her earlier question. "I needed to apologize to someone, and I figured I would say sorry to her first, since it was my fault she was taken in the first pl-" Rukia hit him in the head.

"Baka! You still think you had anything to do with that? Aizen tricked us all, and manipulated her into leaving! Dont say foolish things if you value the shape of your head, strawberry," she threatened.

"Fine. Maybe I didn't cause her to go there, but what happened there... I don't think I can ever really forgive myself," he finished. A look of annoyance crossed over her face.

Rukia stood up and paced over to her closet - _my closet? What the hell, Rukia? It's _his_ closet! -_ turning and speaking to Ichigo with a serious tone. "Ichigo, I spoke to Ishida." his ears perked up.

"He's alright?" he asked.

Rukia just huffed, "Of _course_ he's alright, baka! You came back with us didn't you? Wasn't Inoue the one that healed him? And it's not like you did much anyways, I've had worse wounds from training battles. You're just over-estimating yourself. Maybe your attacks aren't as tough as you thought!" she teased.

He just blinked.

Sighing, she walked over and grabbed his hair roughly, yanking his face up to meet her eyes. "You fool. Did you really think any of us thought that _you_ were the one in control then? Ishida took a chance by trying to talk to that thing, and he got hurt. _You_ had nothing to do with it. So get over yourself. Yes, you have an inner hollow, and yes, it takes over from time to time. What can you do?" she asked, then answered her own question, "You can train, and get stronger. That's all. Feeling sorry for yourself isn't the answer."

She finished by kicking him in the shin, hard. "And if you ever ignore me like this again, I promise I'll tell Nii-sama that you violated my purity." That last threat finally broke the sorrowful look on his face. He gulped.

"You bitch... You wouldn't dare! That never even happened!" he said loudly. Smirking, she turned away as she replied.

"Wouldn't I? It would certainly be easy. After all, your father would no doubt be shouting it from the rooftops when Nii-sama arrived, just to confirm the story," she explained.

"How would he-" Ichigo stopped cold at the evil smile on Rukia's face.

"Oh, Ichigo, do you really think I wouldn't tell your father about his grandchildren's imminent arrival?" she snickered behind her hand.

The orange-haired teen jumped up and pointed at his tormentor, shouting: "You! You do anything like that and I'll tell everyone at school that you're in love with Keigo!"

"Hah! Keigo? As if! They would know you were lying!" she retorted. Inside she was smiling. They had finally started bickering, and her plan had worked. She knew that he had a one-track mind, and as much as he may have thought he didn't need forgiveness from anyone else, he really did need to hear the words from his friends. Normalcy had been restored, if only temporarily.

"Really? Then you won't mind if I call him now and tell him? Wha-OOF!" a pillow collided with his head and Rukia darted into her closet, closing and latching the door.

"Hey! You little bitch! What was that for? Wha-hey!" she heard a loud crash as she finished a certain familiar Bakudo. Opening the closet door, she saw Ichigo on the floor, bound by the same demon magic she had used on him when they first met. "You! You freakin' midget! What'd you do?"

Rukia walked over and sat on his back, forcing him to the floor. "I used the number one way of binding on you. Do. Not. Call. Me. Little. Okay?" she ended with her fakey school-girl voice.

Ichigo didn't speak to her for the rest of the night.

* * *

Meanwhile, at an abandoned warehouse to the south, a familiar group appeared in the moonlight. The leader, a thin blonde with a grin that stretched from ear to ear, spoke to the rest: "Ah! Karakura town! This here's gotta be the best town in the whole wide world for us, eh? I can 'ardly believe our little Ichigo's gone and found himself a new power... Well, y'all know what ta do!" he ordered and a sandal flew at his temple.

-SMACK- "Cut the crap Shinji!" yelled a short yellow-haired girl, a fang emphasizing her teeth. "Whaddya know 'bout Ichigo's new powers, huh? What aren't you telling me you asshole?"

The rest of the group sweatdropped.

The Vizards had returned to Karakura Town, and already they were fighting with each other. Ichigo had better be worth this.


	7. Welcome Back, Friend

"AUUUGGH!"

All the neighbors of the Kurosaki Clinic were jolted awake by the loud shout.

"HAH-HAHHH MY SON! You've grown WEAK! Why, you probably couldn't get me grandchildren if sabot-CRACK-" Isshin's loud voice cut off as a painful sound echoed throughout the house. A short second later a thump could be heard outside Ichigo's room.

"Shut UP old man! I'm PERFECTLY CAPABLE of giving you grandkids! Stay the hell outta my room you old goat!" Ichigo could be heard yelling at his father, followed by a loud slam as he shut the door with a little too much force.

In the twin's room, the three girls looked at eachother. "D'you think we should check to see if goat-chin's dead yet?" Karin asked unworriedly. She was lounging on her side in bed, still under the warmth of her covers, and totally unwilling to make sure her father wasn't bleeding out in front of her brother's room. He deserved it anyways.

"Oh, no! Don't say things like that, Karin! How horrible..." Yuzu was wearing bunny pajamas (Rukia had plans to steal those) and had a concerned look on her small face. Rukia lay between them on a bed Isshin had spent many weeks trying to sneak into Ichigo's room. Ever since they'd come back he'd made it his personal mission to get them to sleep in the same room, to no avail. Ichigo had barely returned to normal the night before, and here his father was, pressuring him into doing drastic things. She sighed and pushed the covers off herself, savoring the last few instances of warmth before walking out the door to check on the older man. She walked up the stairs and, seeing Isshin unconscious, poked at him with her toe, which startled him awake.

"EEYOOOOWWWWWW!" he cried as he woke up, clutching his head. "MASAKI! Our oldest child, son Ichigo, has broken me! I merely went to wake him up ever-so-gently as I always do! Oh the pain of not being loved!" his tears ran rivers down his face. A harried looking Ichigo swung open the door and tossed a book at the man.

"Stop cryin' old man! Act your age!" he yelled before moving to close the door again. Rukia, seeing that Isshin wasn't dead or dying (because that's a soul burial no Shinigami should have to deal with) swept over to the door and caught it before it closed, squeezing her way into the room before Isshin could recover his wits. Ichigo had already jumped onto the bed when she heard the doctor's voice through the door.

"Oh Rukia-chan! My third-daughter is taking the initiative with Ichigo! Go, go, I-chi-goooo! I'll slide my special books under the door for you!" Isshin's voice faded as he walked back downstairs, his mission accomplished.

Rukia looked over to Ichigo and noticed his eyebrow twitching. He seemed pretty irked by the latest round of antics from his father, but at least he wasn't melancholy like before. She sat in his chair, facing him with a small smile. "Good morning Ichigo, how are you?" she asked.

Ichigo, meanwhile, was trying his best to suppress the blush that threatened to turn him into a literal strawberry. His dad had just been suggesting all sorts of... things... that weren't even true! But they had made his brain think anyways, and now he couldn't stop picturing Rukia and him... _Goddamnit old man, I'm gonna kick your ass for this._

"I'm... um," he stopped when he looked over. There was Rukia, just sitting backwards on his chair and smiling at him. Smiling! Like nothing had ever gone wrong. Like he had never transformed into something straight out of hell. He had never trusted anyone with his feelings before Rukia, never shared the story of his mother's death before her, never been able to protect the people that he loved until she came along and gave him her power. He should have known Rukia would always have his back. That's just who she was, the pillar of strength for him when he needed her.

"I'm fine, midget," he answered. He really should thank her somehow. Maybe that concert Keigo had mentioned was still in town? He knew she'd wanted to go, but his own dumbass antics had stopped her. She could learn alot about the living world, and hopefully embarass him less in public. "Oi, Rukia, you wanna go out today? That concert might still be in town so we can go check it out. If you want to, that is."

Rukia smiled brightly, "Really? Wonderful! I can learn so many new things, and wear my new outfit!" Her eyes widened and she became lost in fantasies of her first concert. Having never been to one, her imagination would have looked absolutely insane had anyone been able to see it. "We can get tommytoes and throw them at the people we don't like! It'll be fun Ichigo!"

He groaned and lay back on his bed. _On second thought, maybe taking Rukia to a concert is a bad idea._

**##############################**

Ichigo and Rukia walked around Karakura Town, silently enjoying the peace they had been hacing since they got back. Butterflies flitted around, birds were chirping in the trees, they even saw a squirrel or two. Rukia, of course, had decided to chase the "mini-chappy" around the park, resulting in more than a few curious stares from passers-by, and more than few missing tufts of bright orange hair. Eventually she caught the poor thing, shaking in terror as it was, but dropped it when it bit her.

"Ouch! Ichigo, mini-chappy bit me!" she whined.

He just scowled, "Dumbass, it's a squirrel. A wild animal! Of course it's gonna bite ya!"

Seeing the pout on her face, he remembered why they were even out at the park, and his features softened. "Here, lemme see your hand, I need to make sure it won't get infected," he said as he took the wounded hand in his own. Giving the bite a quick once-over, he figured it would be best to play it safe. "Looks like we'll probably need to disinfect it, to be safe," he explained. "C'mon, I'll bet one of the stores down the road has a first aid kit or something."

He started walking towards the stores when he felt resistance on his arm. Looking back, he realized that he was still holding Rukia's hand in his, and she was staring at the coupled fingers with a mix of curiosity and embarassment. Ichigo quickly pulled his hand away, scratching his head and looking to the side. "Oh! Uhh... Heh, sorry bout that!"

Rukia was still staring at her hand, as if she was expecting something to happen. She looked up though, a smile on her face. "Hm? Oh, don't worry about it, it's nothing. I don't think my gigai can even get infected, if I remember correctly."

"Ah, well, that's good I guess. Alright, if you don't feel like getting anything for it that's fine. Less trouble for me anyways," remarked the tall boy, stretching his arms out as they walked together towards the shopping district. A low growl emanated from his stomach. It was almost two in the afternoon, Ichigo realized, and they hadn't even eaten lunch yet! "Hey, Rukia, whadya want to eat?" he asked, walking towards the Ramen-hut nearby, hoping she'd get the hint.

"Eat? Oh, you're hungry? Ehh..." Rukia spun around, pointing towards an Ice Cream cart they had passed earlier. "That! Icu... Creamu... Whatever _that _is, I want it!" she stated.

Ichigo sweatdropped. "That's not lunch food, dumbass! That's like dessert food! Gah! And you're acting like they don't have Ice Cream in Soul Society or something, what the hell's wrong with you?" he argued.

Rukia frowned. "No, actually, they don't have Icu Creamu in Soul Society. Baka, you were there! You should know these things," she finished, turning up her nose and walking towards the stand.

Ichigo growled but followed the brat anyways. When they got to the stand Rukia was peering through the glass at the flavors they had, standing on her tiptoes to see the ones closest to her. Her nose pressed against the viewing glass and left smudges, much to Ichigo's annoyance. He wouldn't ever admit it, but he hated dirty glass. _Then again, _he thought, _she looks pretty cute like that. Bah. Whatever._

The stand owner, a young girl, addressed them kindly: "Ohaiyogozaimasu! What may I get for you today?" she asked with a bright smile. Ichigo saw her nametag. "Mandy" was written in big blue letters, and a heart sticker was placed over the "a" for a cute effect. She was wearing an old-fashioned candy-stripe outfit and a big paper hat. Ichigo thought she looked alot like an older Yuzu, albeit with Karin's hair. She smiled at him and asked which flavor he wanted. "We have Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip, Vanilla, Cookies and Cream, Strawberry, Coffee, and Bubblegum flavors today sir," she began. "And we offer single, double, and triple scoops. If you want two or three different flavors I can do that too!"

Ichigo thought about it for a moment, then chose, "Chocolate. In a waffle-cone too. Oi, Rukia, you figured it out yet?"

Rukia was practically drooling on the glass, but looked up and nodded. "Hai, Ichigo! I'd like... umm... Strawberry!" she said and pointed. Mandy laughed at the choice, the joke not lost on her. Ichigo just groaned.

Mandy carefully scooped out the ice cream and handed it to each of them, Rukia's in a sugar cone, Ichigo's in a chocolate dipped waffle-cone. "I hope you and your girlfriend enjoy the ice cream!" she said, handing Ichigo some napkins.

"Wha-? She-She's not my girlfriend! It's nothing like that!" he sputtered. Mandy just laughed.

"Hah, well, alright then. If you say so. Oh, by the way, would you mind helping me out?" she asked.

Rukia had just discovered that ice cream melts in the sun, and was frantically trying to lick the drips off her hand while getting strawberry ice cream all over herself, so Ichigo decided he'd rather deal with Mandy than the midget at that moment. "Yeah, sure, whadya need?"

She poked her fingers together and blushed. Quietly she explained her situation. "Well, um... I've always wanted to own an ice cream parlor since I was a littel child, and ever since I got this job I've wanted it even more. But..." she trailed off, embarassed.

"But...?" Ichigo prompted her.

"But... But I really need more money than I'm earning here now if I'm ever going to open my own shop!"

Ichigo waved his hands in front of him, saying, "Noooo, nooo, no. I'm not givin ya any extra money! How do I know what you'll spend it on?"

Mandy quickly explained: "No! It's nothing like that! I don't want extra money, though that would be nice, I just wanted to ask you to please tell other people about my stall! It would really help, especially since it's only springtime now, and people don't usually buy ice-cream until summer!"

She was obviously eager about her dreams, and Ichigo couldn't see any reason not to help her out. She seemed nice, after all. "Ah, yeah, I'll do that. My dad's a doctor, so I'll just put some flyers out in the waiting room. We'll probably be coming back here too, so don't worry." He smiled, and she laughed.

"Thank you so much, Strawberry!"

Rukia had managed to contain the dripping ice-cream with a nest of napkins, and pulled up alongside Ichigo as he departed the stand. "Hey, Ichigo, how do you eat this stuff?" she asked, making his eyes go wide.

"Idiot, you lick it like you were doing, but the goal is to keep it in your mouth, and off everything else!"

"Oh, you mean like this?" she asked, slowly extending her tongue and licking a bit of the dessert while keeping eye contact with him. Ichigo blushed, bad thoughts rushing through his brain, no doubt a result of his father's constant antics. He shook his head. After all, it was only Rukia.

"Yeah, um. Like that. Hey, let's head over to the concert area, see if they're still playing," he said, walking off. Rukia stumbled after him, her napkin nest failing to catch all the drips. How did Ichigo eat this stuff?

#####################################

"Huh. Well, I guess we missed it. Damn, I was kinda hopin to see a live show!"

Ichigo and Rukia stood at the edge of a large converted sports arena, set up with a stage at the center and seats where a field should have been. The band "Kagrra," had been playing there the past few nights. It was a fairly new band, not too many followers compared to others, but still popular enough to warrant a tidal wave of stickers and band paraphenalia around Karakura Town that week. Damned vandals.

Rukia frowned, her ice-cream finished on the walk over. She wasn't too upset, actually, it was just that she'd really wanted to experience the event. Looking over, she saw Ichigo with a guilty frown on his face. Sighing, she turned. "Ichigo? Don't tell me you feel guilty about us missing the concert? Baka. I don't mind that I had to take care of you yesterday. Just don't let it happen again, okay?"

Ichigo nodded. He could never understand how she read him so easily, it was uncanny!

"Besides, I don't care for rock music anyways. I like tekuno."

"Gahh... Techno, Rukia. Techno."

"That's what I said, baka!"

"No it isn't, YOU said te-"

A sudden beeping halted their argument. Rukia flipped open her Soul Pager and frowned. Three bright red dots were on the screen, all of them heading towards- "Ichigo, watch out!" she shouted. Three shadows swooped in and surrounded them, materializing into hollows. Two of them looked very plain, like large humanoids with evil masks. The third, though, looked more like like some sort of ancient dinosaur, with a large body and elongated neck. Its teeth extended forward from its mouth and rotated like drills. Ichigo had already swapped into his Soul form, and was swinging Zangetsu around to block an attack while Rukia popped in Chappy and told her to take Ichigo's body somewhere safe. She turned back to the fight and saw Ichigo badly outnumbered.

"Huuuuuuuuu-AHHHHHH!" he roared as he swung downwards, cleaving the first hollow's arm off at the shoulder. As he did so, the large hollow opened its mouth and shot a drill-like tooth at Ichigo, catching him in the shoulder. "Auuugh! What the hell? These things can shoot now?" he shouted as he turned to block another missile. Rukia unsheathed her sword and began covering his back against the two smaller hollows. They split up, attacking her from both sides, the one on the left missing its arm.

"Suge no mai! Hakuren!" she cried, unleashing a wave of ice towards the wounded hollow. The hollow tried to dodge but could escape in time. It froze everything below the waist, and the momentum carried the rest of the hollow forward, breaking off its legs with a loud crack. The one-armed torso and head disintegrated with a roar of pain. Rukia turned back to the remaining hollow, which had stopped upon seeing its partner so easily defeated. "Yes, that was your friend," she taunted. "And now you'll feel the same thing!"

Spinning Sode no Shirayuki in a wide circle, she called out, "Tsugi no Mai, Tsukishiro!"

The hollow looked down and saw a large white circle forming under it. Ice was slowly crawling up its legs, freezing them and anchoring the monster in place. It looked up with a snarl, "Bastard shinigami!" it cried, "I'll ki-"

A massive pillar of ice erupted from the circle on the ground, freezing the hollow instantly before it could finish its threat. The pillar crumbled after a moment, and all that remained was a beautiful cloud of ice crystals falling from the sky. Rukia sheathed her sword, then turned to see how Ichigo was faring. She could have laughed. He was toying with the thing!

"C'mon! That's the best you've got?" he taunted the massive hollow. "I've fought and killed Espada and you think you can fight me?"

The hollow's eyes widened behind its mask at that. This shinigami had fought and killed Espada? Perhaps the rich spirit energy of the area wasn't worth this...

Ichigo didn't have a scratch on him, and hadn't even entered bankai. He was enjoying this, his first big hollow in awhile, and the first one he'd fought without the guilt of Hueco Mundo riding on his shoulders. He flew up using shunpo and stopped, pointing Zangetsu at the beast. "You know who I am, hollow?"

He let go of his reiatsu, and the sky shook.

"I'm Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo. And you're dead," he said as he flew downwards with Zangetsu extended in front of him. He truck the hollow directly between the eyes, and cut down all the way through the neck and torso of the hapless enemy before landing on the other side of it. Sheathing Zangetsu, he whispered, "And I'm finally alive again."

He rejoined with Rukia and asked if she was okay.

"Of course I'm alright, baka, you don't always need to protect me," she replied. "Besides, as I recall it was _you _that needed protecting most recently, wasn't it? Hmmm?"

"Oh, whatever! You can be such a pain in the ass Rukia..."

They got back into their bodies and started walking home, a little happier now that they'd had a chance to practice their shinigami skills. They were weird like that. Out of nowhere a massive force pushed down on them both, forcing them to their knees. Rukia gasped for air as Ichigo struggled to get out of his body again. "Wh-what? What is this?" he asked in confusion.

"Hey, Ichigo, long time no see, eh? How ya been ma man?" a familiar voice asked as the pressure let up.

Ichigo and Rukia looked up and saw a pair of boots leading up to tight white pants, above which a floral shirt rested casually on the shoulders of none other than...

"SHINJI?" Ichigo gawked. It couldn't be! He thought the Vizards had gone into hiding after the battle, not to mention that he could have sworn he saw some of them get killed. Yet, sure enough, there they all were, floating in the sky around him as if it were totally normal. Love and Rose waved at him, smiling stupidly, while Kensei just nodded, and Mashiro did an interpretive dance. Hachi smiled warmly, while Lisa didn't even so much as look at him. Then where was... -THWACK- "DAMMIT ICHIGO, I told ya to keep you eyes open! Eyes open dammit!"

Rubbing the spot where he'd been hit, Ichigo replied, "Good to see ya too Hiyori, how's that whole being cut in half thing treatin ya?" -THWACK-THWACK-THWACK- "Ouch dammit, alright!"

"Stupid asshole! That's not funny! You hear me? I wanna freakin apology!" -THWACK- "Say you're sorry, bastard!"

Ichigo finally caved and apologized in the only way he knew how: "Oh, Hiyori, I'm SO sorry that you couldn't keep track of Gin in a fight and got cut cleanly in half by a slow moving sword. I am SO sorry for making fun of you for that."

Fortunately she didn't catch the sarcasm, despite the rest of the Vizards looking at Ichigo like he was some sort of sadist psychopath. Did he want to die? Hiyori turned to him and gave a threatening smile.

"Alright, then. I accept yer apology, asshole, but if it happens again I'll cut YOU in half, ya hear?" Ichigo gulped and nodded.

Ichigo finally got his sense and remembered something. "Hey, Shinji, why are you guys here? Aren't you supposed to be in hiding?" he asked the blonde haired leader.

"Eh... mebbe. But we got some other stuff ta take care of too, ya know. I mean, we gotta help ya get that hollow of yours under control again am I right?" Shinji asked, flashing his wide grin.

Ichigo paused. "How... How did you know about that?" he asked. Rukia hit him on the head.

"Baka! I told you! Urahara knows about it, and he's obviously in contact with these people! Honestly, don't say foolish things," she explained.

Shinji nodded, "Yep, and we can't be havin ya runnin all 'round town with a barely controlled beastuvahollow now can we? Nope! So lets get down to business, eh?"

With that he disappeared, reappearing in front of Ichigo faster than he could track. "You're gonna make this easy, ne, Ichigo?"

He unsheathed his sword. "Cuz the way we're gonna help ya," he began as Ichigo's eyes widened in confusion, "Is by killin ya!" he finished as he swung his blade.

Ichigo just managed to get out of his body and shunpo away before Shinji's strike landed, pulling Zangetsu free and holding in front of him. "What the hell, Shinji? I thought we were allies!"

He just shrugged, "Eh, we were. But now, Ichigo, ya've gone and made yerself too powerful! A shame, really, if ya think about it. We coulda been great friends!"

Shinji launched himself forward, pulling on his mask as he did so. His attack was barely fended off by a still-shocked Ichigo, who couldn't believe this was happening. Ichigo exploded with power as he activated his Bankai, pulling on his hollow mask as he did so. "Tensa Zangetsu," he said, his voice distorted through the mask. "Shinji, I'm gonna kill you for this."

Shinji grinned maniacally, "**Is that a new mask, Ichigo? Do tell!**"

Looking over, Ichigo saw Rukia being held down by Hiyori and Lisa, blank expressions on their faces as they watched the battle.

"Fine then. You want a fight, Shinji? You've got it!" and with that he unleashed a massive Getsuga Tenshou at the Vizard leader.

"**Tsk... Not fast enough, Ichigo!**" said a voice from behind him. Spinning, he raised Zangetsu in time to stop a blow from severing his head. Shinji was fighting seriously! Reversing the flow of his strike, he rammed forward and caught Shinji in the chin with his elbow, knocking him back and giving Ichigo some space. He noticed the other Vizards weren't attacking, but he thought nothing of it. They were probably waiting their turn.

A rush of wind brought him back to the battle, where Shinji was forming a cero with his fingers, and aiming directly at him. He knew what to do, he had seen the Espada use this trick many times. He formed a cero of his own in between his eyes, pouring as much power as he could into it. As Shinji fired his attack, so did Ichigo. The two massive ceros collided and blasted eachother apart, though they weren't the point anyways. Ichigo had followed close behind his own attack, hoping to catch Shinji off-guard. What he didn't expect was for Shinji to do the same. -CLANG- Their swords collided with a shower of sparks, reiatsu spiking as they each tried to overpower the other.

"Dammit, Shinji, don't make me fight you!" Ichigo yelled, holding back.

He was answered with a toothy grin and a kick to the gut. "OOPH!" He let out a grunt as he doubled over. Shinji pulled back his sword to strike, and as he swung Ichigo managed to parry the strike with his own blade. "Not... fast enough... Shinji!"

Suddenly Ichigo became a flurry of strikes, and Shinji was pushed back, barely able to keep up. Ichigo's eyes glowed blue through his mask, signaling a massive spike in power. "Shinji, what the hell do you think you're trying to do? Kill me? Why?" he asked as he lashed out with his sword.

"**Because, Ichigo, we can't allow someone with your power to just run around. Didn't I already say that?**"

They continued their exchange of attacks and blocks, occasionally hitting one another, but for the most part evenly matched. That's when Kensei stepped in. "Enough! Shinji, just kill him already!" he shouted, pulling on his own hollow mask. "_**OR I WILL."**_

_**"Ichigo... PREPARE TO DIE!" **_he lunged forward with his dagger, swiping crossways and leaving a shallow cut from Ichigo's shoulder to waist. Blood spurted from the wound and Ichigo turned to block a second attack by the Vizard.

"Dammit, no! I'm not gonna die, you bastards!"

Ichigo spun and swung Zangetsu wide, knocking Kensei's arm to the side, then kicked out and knocked his dagger out of his hand. Continuing to spin, he brought Zangetsu around and slashed Shinji across his gut, leaving a deep tear that oozed blood. To his astonishment, it healed instantly, Shinji's hollow mask doing its job. Before Ichigo could spin around again though, he felt cold steel run through his abdomen. Looking down, he saw a sword protruding from his chest, blood pouring out around it. He strained to turn and see who it was that had hit him. Hiyori stood, an annoyed expression on her face. Rukia screamed from below.

"ICHIGO! NO! NOOOO! You traitors!" she cried, tears running down her face. She had tried to help him, but Hiyori and Lisa had kept her down, and she had been forced to watch as he fought a losing battle, a battle that would only end in his death. She couldn't believe it, just minutes ago he had been finally feeling happy and normal again, now... now he was dying in front of her and she couldn't do anything! Just like Kaien!

Ichigo turned back to face Shinji, who had an interesting expression on his now maskless face. Was that... concern? It was odd, his vision kept fading from color to black and white and back again. He felt his eyelids droop, and watched as the world faded away. The only thing he knew was the sound of Shinji's voice, with Rukia sobbing in the background.

"Right, well, sorry Ichigo. We had to draw out the beast somehow, and since our normal hideouts are bein' watched, we figured we'd just do it out here y'know? Ichigo? Ichigo..? Oh shit-"

Ichigo's eyes opened. He was floating in darkness. He couldn't feel anything, hear anything, see anything. He tried to speak but his mouth wouldn't open. He tried to blink but his eyes wouldn't close. An eerie voice called out to him, familiar and foreign at the same time, it chilled his bones with dread.

**Well hello there, King. Long time no see! HUAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!**


	8. Demon

"Rose! Above you!"

"Shit! How'd he move like that?"

"Shinji, behind you! Wait, no, Kensei watch out!"

-CLANG-

**"HYYYAAARRRGH!"**

The skies above Karakura were alight with a rainbow of spiritual powers, energy crackling as the atmosphere absorbed more and more of the immense power. Wind blew in every direction as swords clashed with one another, breaking the peace and quiet of the evening with the din of metal on metal. The setting sun cast an orange glow across the battlefield in the sky, illuminating eight figures locked in battle with something the world had never seen before outside of nightmares.

It stood as tall as a man, its grey skin pallid and cool, like death. Claws extended from its hands and feet, curving inward like dark black sickles. Lean muscles rippled underneath its skin, revealing an incredible figure and strength. Where a head should be was a visage born of evil. Bone-white, it bore no flesh, as though the creature had donned the skull of a long-dead beast. Black markings fall from the crown to the jaw, crossing over vicious looking teeth that formed a permanently cruel smile, as though it reveled in the terror it caused. Two large horns lay on the top of its head, emerging from the temple at right angles before sharply jutting forward about a foot or so, tapering into razor-sharp points that glinted in the dimming light. Eyes glowed a cool blue, wisps of flame in the shadowy eye-holes of its mask. Behind it was the only proof of this demon's true nature, the only evidence it was not quite what it seemed. Long, flowing, orange hair fell down its back, whipping in the wind as it moved with a speed that threatened to turn back time itself.

Kurosaki Ichigo's hollow had emerged. It wasn't happy.

**"Crush... You..."** its voice rasped past its teeth, a quiet cruelty pervading every word. As if to demonstrate its own threat, it blocked an attack with its finger, grabbing the assailant's sword and shattering it. Knocking the stunned foe to the ground below, it turned to face the remaining seven enemies.

"Rose! You okay?" one called to the fallen figure. No response came, and the one who called out roared and charged. "Dammit! What the hell are you?" he asked through clenched teeth, swinging his blade at the demon's midsection. His sword was stopped by a raised hand. "Wha-?"

The beast cocked its head to look at the man. He was wearing a mask similar to its own, though smaller. It could sense a power like its own within the man, though that too was weaker than itself. The man had odd black hair, extending like five cones from his head, and dark skin covered by a green outfit. The beast repeated the man's question, "**What... Am I...?**"

It brought its midnight black sword back and prepared to strike. "**I am... Power!**" it roared as it brought the blade down, holding the man in place.

-SHINK-

A blade blocked the demon's attack, a blonde man with his hand wrapped around the hilt, a mask on his face as well. A wide grin could be seen peeking out around the edges of his mask. "Hey Love, why doncha go get outta here fer a sec, eh? I gotta talk to this guy here, y'know?" he spoke to the green-clothed man, who disappeared in a sudden wind, leaving the beastly hand clutching at air.

The blonde man spoke again, "Sooo... Ichigo, whadya up ta in there, eh?"

"Ain't ya gonna hurry up'n'tell yer hollow ta get lost?" he asked, deftly sidestepping to avoid a downward slash, firing off a small Bala as he did.

"Hey Ichigo, hurry up in there!"

* * *

**"So, King, how's things been for ya?"**

In this black world, Ichigo couldn't move or speak, but he could hear the oh-so-familiar voice of his inner hollow as it taunted him.

**"C'mon King! You're so weak! Hahahaha! You can't even talk right now, you're so weak. How pathetic!"**

The darkness swirled like mist to reveal the source of the voice. Ichigo's eyes widened. _This is my inner hollow? When did it-?_

Before his prone body stood his hollow, though it did not look at all like it had the last time Ichigo saw it. Where before the hollow had looked like a mere negative copy of himself, this creature looked more like the Devil himself. He could sense the power emanating from the hollow as it strode up to him. Glancing down, he was shocked to see a white copy of Zangetsu in the hollow's grip, the long blade reversing the real Zangetsu's form in every way, even the hilt rotated the opposite direction. If ever the expression of Yin and Yang had a better example, he hadn't seen it.

The hollow raised its blade and brought it to Ichigo's throat, tracing lightly across his adam's apple. It spoke again, **"Relax, King, I ain't about to kill ya. I need you alive, unfortunately. See, I may be in control, but you're the one that owns this body, so I have to keep you from dyin' or else I'll die too. Why'd you think I helped ya by movin that ol' mask around back when you were tryin' to save that woman of yours?"**

Ichigo was slowly feeling strength return to his body, perhaps just by absorbing the hollow's own power from this close distance. He tried to move his mouth and speak but only garbled noise came out.

The hollow grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up and pushing their faces together. Blue eyes bore into his, and icy cold breath stung his face. **"King, you aren't trying to interrupt me, are ya? How rude..."** it hissed before reaching out and breaking Ichigo's wrist with a quick twist.

The pain bubbled up within Ichigo, eventually building to the point that he couldn't take it any more. He somehow found the strength to scream, eyes beginning to tear at the pain, as the hollow continued to roll around the broken wrist in its hand and increased the agony.

"AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGH!"

* * *

The battle continued between the eight remaining figures. Seven against one, and it was thus far a stalemate, neither side tiring yet neither side gaining an upper hand. The leader of the seven ordered his troops around with the ease of a practiced commander who had fought for centuries. Which, of course, he had.

"Hiyori, attack from below! Lisa, Mashiro, take either side! Kensei, get him from behind! I'll take him head on!" he yelled. Shinji Harako wasn't about to lose this fight. He couldn't really _win_ it either, however, since they needed Ichigo to live through this. He didn't question whether the substitute shinigami would prevail over his inner hollow, he just didn't know _when_ he'd prevail.

Sighing, he charged forward, his sword held out like a lance, hoping to stab the beast in the shoulder or mask, enough to distract it for Ichigo's sake. He saw out of the edges of his vision as his comrades flew at the target as well. Realizing he'd forgotten to guard the area above the hollow, he called out another quick order, "Hachi! Put a barrier above 'im! Now!"

A golden dome appeared above the hollowfied Ichigo, just as the five Vizards reached it, hitting it at all different angles simultaneously. Sparks flew as the great demon's sword moved with impossible speed to block all of the attacks. A small cut appeared on Shinji's face and he grimaced as he realized they were outmatched. Without moving or speaking, he pushed reiatsu into his sealed blade and brought out his shikai. His friends realized they were in trouble and followed suit, each wordlessly activating their shikai's save for Kensei who already had it out.

**"You fools... Challenging me...? I'll end you... All..."** the hollow warned menacingly. Looking upwards, it began gathering energy between its horns. The vizards all gasped at the rapidly spinning orb. _A cero oscuras?_ Shinji wondered how Ichigo or his hollow could manage such a technique. Only the Espada had that attack, or so Urahara had explained to him.

The massive cero shot out at Hachi's barrier, its blue energy pushing against gold, wind whipping in every direction. Cracks began to appear on the barrier, much to everyones' surprise, when the barrier suddenly succumbed to the cero and shattered, the beam of energy pulsing through the heavens as it broke past the shield. The hollow flew upwards, away from the Vizards, and looked down.

**"You... Will all die..."** it said as it rushed at them, another massive cero forming between its long horns. Shinji frowned, sweat trickling down his forehead.

"Damn, Ichigo, y'gotta be makin' _some_ progress by now, right?"

* * *

Ichigo had managed to gather enough strength to move awhile ago, and had immediately begun running from his hollow. He needed to find a way to attack, or escape, because the hollow would just keep hurting him if he didn't. _Not just me... Everyone else too! I need to beat him so he can't hurt anyone_ he thought to himself.

The hollow was only mildly interested in chasing the King around his own soul. He figured taunting him would be more fun. **"Oi, King, ya think I have a shot with any of those women ya got?"** he asked.

**"I could teach 'em so many things! They gotta be fans of guys with long tongues, eh?"**

**"Aww, no answer, King? That's fine, I didn't need yer input anyways. I already know which one I want."**

Ichigo was far away, trying not to listen. He thought he could feel some sort of... exit, nearby. He wanted to find the way out _now_.

**"That red-head! Man, King, you gotta admit she'd be great without all those clothes on, eh? And she already wants ya, so this oughtta be a snap!"**

Ichigo whirled, shouting: "You fucking perverted hollow! Don't you even think about crap like that! Just cuz Inoue likes me doesn't mean I want anything to do with her! I'm not like that you bastard, and if you try anything it won't work cuz they all know I'm not!"

The hollow sneered, **"Oh, King, I think you put too much faith in your friends' intelligence. Especially that girl. I bet I can get her to go all the way on just the first date! Hahaha!"**

Ichigo was still searching for the exit, but answered anyways. "Shut the hell up, you useless hollow. When I beat you I'm gonna have Inoue reject you out of me if you keep talking like that!" he threatened, his hand finally grabbing what felt like a door handle. "And believe me, hollow, I'm gonna kick your ass."

The hollow had stopped moving. Tilting its head, a sigh escaped its mouth. **"Huh... Y'know, King, I have a name,"** it began.** "It's-"**

"I don't care what the hell your name is, asshole! I don't need to! You're just another problem I have to deal with right now!" Ichigo interrupted.

The hollow growled. **"Screw you, King. My name's Ogihci Abihs. Yeah, it's your name spelt backwards, but guess what? That's my name."**

Ichigo turned a curious eye as he twisted what he was certain was a doorknob. "Abihs? That spells..."

**"Shiba,"** Ogihci interrupted. **"Yeah, your old man's a liar. If you were better at sensin Reiatsu maybe you woulda figured it out, dumbass."**

Ichigo was too suspicious, however, and decided Ogihci was trying to mess with him. He turned the doorknob and pushed out. "Yeah, right. Next you'll tell me I'm the Soul King. Tsch... Get lost." he said as he stepped out into his own familiar inner world of sideways buildings and falling rain.

Ogihci just smirked. If only that idiot would listen. The shadows of his hollow world vanished as the King's world took over once again. A shadow appeared next to him.

_**"You realize he will beat you again, of course?"**_

The slim figure of Zangetsu stood beside Ogihci, his tattered cloak billowing in a non-existent wind. Grey eyes peered out behind mirrored sunglasses, a rough beard surrounding tightly drawn lips.

**"Hm? He's gonna beat me? Hah! You're funny, Zangetsu! Nah, that brat's too worried about his friends right now. Thinks I'm gonna go after the women. Heh, like I'd be interested in weak bitches like them anyways."**

Ogihci laughed and turned back to watching Ichigo. **"He definitely wants somethin'... What the hell is he lookin' for?"**

Zangetsu smiled and replied, _**"His heart."**_

* * *

Hachi was sweating as he moved his hands furiously to erect as many different kidou barriers as possible around the hollowfied Ichigo. He realized he might have to resort to forbidden spells, but wanted to avoid that as long as possible. Donning his hollow mask for what may have been the hundredth time that night, he continued his defensive buildup with renewed vigor.

Hiyori and Love had joined Rose as unconscious forms on the ground. Rukia was tending to their wounds, she realized that the encounter before had all been a clever act to draw out Ichigo's inner hollow. Hachi had taken some time to explain as well, in between erecting barriers to contain the fighting. Apparently Urahara had called them back to Karakura in order to help Ichigo learn how to control his latest transformation. He hadn't used his hollow mask since his failure against Yammy, it turned out, and it had something to do with his emotional strength being drained by the transformation. Their goal was to weaken the hollow by fighting it, and hopefully Ichigo would emerge from within. Hachi explained that Zangetsu, Ichigo's zanpakuto, was like all Zanpakuto's in that it would attempt to fix any damage done to the master, emotional or physical. Rukia didn't quite understand it, she'd never really communicated with Sode no Shirayuki, only received vague dreams and somehow had the names of attacks pop into her memory as though they'd always been there, even when she'd never heard them before.

The demonic hollow was finally beginning to tire out, and Mashiro, Kensei, Lisa, and Shinji were now taking turns fighting it. Mashiro sent some flying kicks into its skull, while Kensei peppered it with small strikes from his dagger. Shinji was flashing in and out, blocking any strikes from hitting his partners, while Lisa slashed at it from every possible angle.

Cracks began to form on the mask, much to everyones' relief. A single horn broke off entirely, crumbling to dust before it hit the ground. Rukia sensed a shift in its reiatsu, and turned to Hachi who nodded in affirmation.

The hollow roared again, a howl so full of pain and rage it broke her heart to know it was Ichigo inside there. _Thank the heavens this fight is almost over_.

* * *

"**Hyyyaaaahhhhh!**"

"Hahhhhh!"

Ichigo roared as he swung his massive cleaver around at Ogihci. He had found this shikai of Zangetsu embedded in the side of a building, and when he touched it he felt his strength return to normal instantly.

**"Not bad, King! But you're still hung up on somethin', and you ain't gonna be good enough to beat me 'til you get over it!"** Ogihci mocked, twirling his white Tensa Zangetsu in his fingers. He stopped its movement and swung outward, releasing a black Getsuga Tenshou towards Ichigo.

Raising his sword to block, Ichigo pushed one foot back as a brace. The energy hit the blade and he forced all his power into the edge, cleaving through the attack, then lunged forward to stab at Ogihci.

"You bastard, I can't let you win this!" he yelled.

_**"Ichigo."**_

The orange haired boy stopped, stunned. "Zangetsu?" he asked incredulously. "The hell? Where've you been this whole time, old man?"

_**"Ichigo, see that it is raining here? You are sad. I cannot tell you why, for only you know the answer. All I can say is that if you do not overcome this sadness you will not overcome this hollow. I also cannot help you overcome this hollow, for it exists as a separate soul, one that I hold only limited power over. You, however, can control him if your heart desires it."**_ the wise man said.

"My heart...? Of course my heart wants to defeat him!"

_**"No, Ichigo, it doesn't. It is focused on something else right now. Think. It will come to you."**_

Ichigo thought, his fight on pause while Zangetsu and Ogihci waited for his revelation. Why Ogihci was waiting didn't make any sense to him, but he wasn't complaining. He realized that what happened in Hueco Mundo must have affected him more deeply than he thought. Attacking Ishida, brutally killing Ulquiorra, losing to Yammy so quickly... They had hurt his pride, he realized. His pride was founded on protecting people, and killing enemies with honor, yet he had failed to do that. He may have come to terms with hurting Ishida, or brutalizing Ulquiorra, but he hadn't realized that his pride was so damaged. He knew what he had to do now. He thought he'd lost his humanity, then he had realized he lost his heart. Now he was beginning to understand that his pride was his heart, the core of his very being.

"Heh, guess you're right, Ossan. I'm gonna have to regain MY PRIDE!" he yelled as he lunged towards Ogihci, catching the hollow off guard. A white blade deflected a massive black one as the two foes clashed, Ichigo smirking as he brought a foot up and kicked Ogihci in the head, stunning him. Following through with the kick he spun and knocked the hollow's blade aside before plunging his own blade deep into a stunned Ogihci's chest. Blood poured out and Ichigo felt all his strength returning, and more strength he hadn't remembered seeping through his very core.

**"What the-" Ogihci gasped. "You! You were too weak to speak a few minutes ago! How did you manage to do this to me without a real fight?"**

The bright-haired teen just smirked. "How? I needed to get my pride back, so I resolved myself to win. You never stood a chance against my resolve, hollow," he explained. "Now I'm going back to the real world. Thanks, Ossan. Keep this jerkwad in line will ya?"

_**"Of course. Congratulations, Ichigo. You found what you were lacking..."**_

* * *

In the skies of Karakura, the sun was slowly rising in the east. Shinji and Hachi were all that remained fighting, the other Vizards having long ago exhausted their strength. The demon before them had suffered minimal damage, but was obviously on its last legs. It raised its sword and flew at the blonde vizard, meaning to cut him in half. Shinji wearily raised his blade to counter the strike, not sure if he could hold on for much longer himself.

Without warning, the hollow creature stopped. It froze in midair, then clutched at its head, howling in agony. Shinji nearly collapsed with relief. Finally Ichigo had beaten that damn thing!

He watched as the beast tore off its mask, revealing Ichigo's tired but happy face. The grey skin slowly peeled off to reveal the rest of Ichigo, as the figure collapsed and fell through the air.

It stopped before it hit the ground though, a slender pair of arms holding it up. Rukia slowly brought the returned Ichigo to the ground, setting him down and immediately beginning healing kidou. A single amber eye opened up halfway, and the boy whispered something to her that neither Shinji or Hachi could hear. They saw her shake her head and continue healing him.

Shinji turned to the large man beside him, then motioned at the unconscious Vizards. "Hey Hachi, ya think ya can get us into the ol' hideout without gettin noticed? Not that it matters much anyways, but..."

The Kidou master nodded, clapping his hands together as he prepared a great, and illegal, teleportation spell. A bright flash of light, and all that remained in the streets of Karakura were two shinigami, their whispered words a mystery to even the gods.


	9. Last Day, and a Date?

"Kurosaki-kun?"

"Just let him rest a little longer, Urahara said he died again."

"Again? Wait, you mean this idiot can't even die properly?"

The voices pounded like steel drums in Ichigo's head as he rose to consciousness. His skull felt like it was stuck in a vice, and he felt like every muscle and bone in his body had been thrown into a brick wall. The soreness was even in his brain, it seemed, like a fog that obscured his thoughts. It was really annoying, trying to remember what had happened and only getting vague feelings or fleeting images. Those voices were even more annoying though...

"Oi! Can't a guy get some freakin' sleep around here?" he yelled as he opened his eyes in a preset scowl. The figures around him slowly came into focus, turning from shapeless blobs of color into the familiar faces of Rukia, Chad, Uryuu, Orihime, and... Renji?

"Eh? Renji? What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbows. As he did, he looked around at where he was. Urahara's Shoten was probably permanently infused with his reiatsu by now, what with all the times he'd been injured and woken up here. It was like a third home, his time spent there almost equal to the time he'd spent in Soul Society. The tattooed face of Renji reappeared in his vision, a smirk adorning its features.

"Whadya mean, 'what the hell am I doing here'?" he poked Ichigo in the chest. The heavily bandaged chest. Which was now bleeding again.

"Ow! Asshole, that hurts! Wha-I'm bleeding?" Ichigo coughed in pain as he looked down at himself. He looked like a mummy with all these stupid bandages! What the hell had happened?

Renji frowned, "Geez, you'd think you'd been hit by Zaraki, friggin wimp. Guess you should be glad it was just those Vizards..."

The substitute shinigami's eyes widened as he remembered. _I fought Shinji and the others in my hollow form!_ A small hand on his shoulder distracted him, and he looked over to see violet eyes smiling into his.

"Baka, don't worry. The Vizards are all alive, and nothing bad happened." He relaxed as he realized she was speaking the truth. Somehow Rukia always managed to calm him down with such simple words. He really appreci-SMACK! "That's for making yourself bleed again, idiot!"

Maybe he didn't appreciate her as much as he thought.

Chad, Inoue, and Uryuu came over next. Inoue had a look of concern etched on her face, and it looked like she hadn't slept for days. _Probably from that awkwardness at her house_ Ichigo guessed. Ishida had his hand on her shoulder and was looking at Ichigo with a mix of apprehension and concern. Chad, meanwhile, just nodded appreciatively. Orihime spoke first.

"Kurosaki-kun? How are you feeling? If you like I can heal those wounds for you..." Inoue kneeled down at his side and looked at his damaged body before meeting his eyes. She smiled and asked, "Is that alright?"

Out of the corner of his eye Ichigo saw Rukia shift a little. Looking over, he saw she was looking away, obviously trying to ignore Orihime's conversation with him. _Weird, _he thought, _is she mad at Orihime or something? Oh! That's right, I have to answer Orihime... _"Nah, thanks though, Orihime. Rukia did a good job, the rest of these should heal up soon. As long as stupid pineapple-head idiots can keep from making it worse, that is..." he said with a leer at the red-headed shinigami next to Rukia. He saw a slight change on the petite girl's face and wondered, _Huh, is it just me or was Rukia just smiling?_

Orihime blinked in disappointment, she had really hoped to be able to heal Kurosaki-kun and hopefully reject the memory of what had happened at her house while she was at it. Obviously that wasn't possible, but at the very least she wanted to prove that she could be needed. She hoped he hadn't refused her help because of that though. Putting on a fake smile she responded as she knew they all expected her to, "Oh, no! That's alright, I understand! Besides, I haven't used my powers since we returned, I should practice on smaller things first!"

The group laughed at her modesty, and Chad leaned down to help prop up a struggling Ichigo. "Ichigo, are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

The teen shrugged, finally standing up on two slightly wobbly feet. "Eh, I've been better. Thanks, Chad," he added with a smile. He walked over towards the door to leave when it slid open and revealed a familiar green-robed man. Urahara stood with a smile on his face, his fan open and waving erratically.

"Oh-ho! Kurosaki-san, I'm afraid you can't leave just yet!" the shopkeeper blocked Ichigo's exit with an infuriating laugh. "You have to stay and heal, or else your wounds shall open again! And if that happens don't say I didn't warn you..."

The rest of the group was now struggling to keep Ichigo from tackling the man and reopening his own wounds. "You fucking crazy-ass old idiot! I could've died!" he yelled past the five pairs of arms straining to hold him back.

"Ichigo, don't!"

"Kurosaki, don't be a fool!"

"BAKA!"-THWACK! Rukia ended the scuffle with a sharp palm to the back of Ichigo's mummified head, knocking him on his ass in a rather painful manner. "Don't you learn, idiot? You were warned not to try so hard, so if you get any other foolish ideas in that stupid strawberry head of yours you had better save me the trouble and knock them out on your own, get it?"

Ichigo gulped. Rukia was scary sometimes, and maybe this was one of those 'do what you're told' moments. "H-hai! You got it, Rukia-sama!" he managed to choke back his pride and add an honorific despite knowing she'd hold it over him for weeks.

"Sama, huh? Eh, I don't know if that's exactly respectful enough, but I'll accept it from a fool, for now," she said disdainfully, but a small twitch at the corner of her mouth gave away her pleasure. "Anyways, Urahara has something to tell you, Ichigo."

The group turned to look at the shopkeeper, who delighted in the attention and smiled widely. "Ah-hah! Yes, Kuchiki-san is quite right. Ichigo, you are correct. As Shinji told you, I called the Vizards back here to bring out your new hollow form, partly because I was curious about its abilities, and also because I knew you'd come to me eventually to ask about them," he explained, twirling his cane around, bringing it to a rest pointing directly at the young Shinigami in question. "Now, I was able to learn a few things from watching you fight. Ichigo, am I correct in assuming that you hate the hollow inside you?"

Ichigo's eyes darkened as he answered, "Y-yeah... Ogihci and I don't get along. He's twisted, like the exact opposite of who I am. I can't stand knowing that I have something that evil in me."

Urahara looked at the boy silently for a few moments before going on, "Then I can also assume you have had problems accessing its powers?" An affirmative nod came from Ichigo. "Good. Good. Then based on my observations, all it will take to access the full power of your hollow without it taking over is some training and a little understanding".

"Understanding?" Ichigo didn't understand. Understanding a hollow? That just didn't make sense.

The shopkeeper grinned, "Of course! Understanding one-another is the most crucial part of any relationship, and the goal is to create a relationship between you and your hollow! But don't worry, I told the Vizards to give you a day or so before they start your training, to have fun and what-have-you," he added hastily, seeing the look of horror on the young Kurosaki's face.

The group was now staring with open mouths at the blonde man. Renji spoke up, his voice cracking. "A relationship? With a hollow?"

None of them could quite understand what thoughts were going through the crazy scientist's head, but he was hardly, if ever, wrong. That must mean he knew what he was talking about. One member of the group wasn't quite so sure.

"WHAT? You think I'm gonna start bein' friends with that bastard?" Ichigo shouted from his position on the floor. He began cursing about how impossible and stupid that "dumbass" idea was, until a swift kick to his shin shut him up. "Ow! Dammit, again? Goddamn midget..."

Rukia didn't have patience for his nonsense though. "He is right, Ichigo. You need to befriend your hollow if you want to avoid losing control again. Now stop thinking about this, we have one day to take care of everything before you leave to train," she ordered, dragging him to his feet. "Orihime-san, can you please really quickly heal this idiot? We have things to do and I don't need him bleeding all over the place," she asked sweetly, a sharp contrast to the iron death-grip she had on Ichigo's wrist preventing him from moving away.

"Oh, h-hai! Kurosaki-kun, if you could remain still, please..." A golden glow filled the room as Inoue's fairies moved into position to heal Ichigo. Rukia stood back and watched with slight jealousy as Ichigo's wounds healed completely in a matter of seconds. What she wouldn't give to be able to heal him like that... _Wait, why just Ichigo? I want to heal anyone like that... Ichigo isn't that special!_

"There, all done! Ano... Cou-Could we come with you today, Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-kun? We're all free and I wouldn't mind spending some time with Kurosaki-kun before he leaves to train like last time," asked the auburn headed girl, pointing her fingers together shyly.

Rukia felt an odd sensation in her gut that she couldn't remember ever having before. Sure, it was alright for Ichigo's friends to come with them for his last day before training, but for some reason she had just sort of expected it to be the two of them alone, like always. Without even realizing what she was saying, she spoke, "Oh, sorry Inoue, I know how much you all want to spend time with Ichigo, but there are things we have to do that are really for shinigami only. You understand, of course?"

Orihime was struggling to hide her disappointment, and the rest of the group was just a little curious about what could be a "shinigami only" activity, but she nodded in agreement anyways. "No, that's alright Kuchiki-san! After all, we know where he'll be this time so if we want to see him it's no big deal, right? Hah-ha.." she trailed off with a nervous laugh.

Ichigo was stretching out, now out of the healing bubble, when he heard that. "Huh? You guys know where I'll be?" he asked with a curious expression.

Rukia sighed, "Of course, fool. Remember when Orihime found you last time? Well, I followed her and saw the building she disappeared into, with the barrier around it. I assumed you were inside."

A narrow smirk appeared on Ichigo's face, and he leaned over towards Rukia with a prideful gleam in his eyes. "So, you were worried about me, huh, midget?"

Rukia's face reddened a little, equal parts anger and embarassment. She would never admit it, but he was right. _No reason to let him and his ego grow any bigger though..._ she thought as she stomped his foot. "Watch it," she warned. "I wasn't worried about you, I was looking for you to kick your ass for disappearing without any warning, baka."

"Tsch. Whatever, midget," he said, before turning to the door impatiently. "Oi, can we hurry up and get out of here? I've only got one day left, and I aint spending it trapped in some stuffy room with Hat-and-clogs."

With that he grabbed Rukia's wrist and dragged her out, saying as he went, "Well first we gotta visit the house, my old man's probably assumed the worst about why we stayed out last night, not to mention we missed dinner -Oh, sorry bout that, Ururu- and next we have to get some freakin food, cuz I am _starving_ right now."

They were already out of the shop and he was still talking when he realized she wasn't responding. Looking back, he saw she was still behind him, but was looking down at something. Following her eyes, he gazed down and saw his hand still wrapped around her slender wrist. He glanced back up and noticed a slight red tinge on the petite girl's cheeks. Realization hit him and he released her quickly, a blush forming on his own cheeks. "Oh. Sorry, Rukia. I-I didn't realize-" she cut him off.

"N-no, fool, don't worry about it. It was just a little strange, that's all. Usually you're the one being dragged places..."

His lips formed a smile and he laughed, "Hahah, yeah, well usually you're _literally_ draggin me places after you kick me to the ground, evil midget."

They were standing in the street awkwardly when he suddenly remembered. "Oi, Rukia?"

Two violet eyes glanced up to meet his curious amber ones. "What?" she asked, not sure where he was going with this.

"Um... Why did you stop Inoue and them from coming with us today? There isn't anything we're doing they can't do, so it just seemed weird," he asked, explaining himself.

Rukia stammered a little, caught off guard by his question. _Why did I stop our friends? _she wondered. "I-Fool, I did it for your own good," she explained with a quickly thought up lie, "If they came you'd be less likely to feel okay about leaving for training, and since you unquestionably need training I thought it would be easier without the people you'll be missing. Besides, you'll see them again anyways."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the unusual explanation, but accepted it nonetheless. "Che, whatever, it didn't really matter. Anyways, we need to figure out what to tell my old man. C'mon," he motioned for her to follow as he headed towards the clinic. She fell into step beside him as the pair walked home.

* * *

"IIII-CHIIIIII-GOOOOOOOO!"

-WHUMP-

"God-DAMN-it old man! Stop tackling me when I come home every day!" yelled Ichigo, his orange hair roughed up from the sudden collision with his over-energetic father.

Isshin smiled widely, his eyes literally sparkling with uncontrolled glee. "Ichigo, why didn't you return home last night? Where were you and my third-daughter Rukia-chan? Hmmmm? I hope you two used protection!" he yelled, practically dancing as he whipped out a poster of Masaki to speak to. "Oh Masaki! Our son has finally grown from a foolish and weak little boy to a strong and potent young man thanks to our third-daughter Ru-WHACK!"

"Shut UP you old pervert! It's nothing like that! We stayed at Chad's for a project dammit!" Veins popped out all over Ichigo's bright orange head as he angrily stomped the teary-eyed Isshin into the floor.

The old physician couldn't help himself though, and shouted gleefully, "I hope to hear wedding bells and the pitter-patter of grandkids soon my son! Oh, I'm so happy! I'll get started moving Rukia-chan's things into your room then? You two should get started making babies now since your virility is in ques-OOF!" Ichigo and Rukia's fists both collided with his jaw, knocking him out cold.

Karin and Yuzu stood in the kitchen, looking out at the scene with very different reactions. "Oh, Ichi-nii! Be careful with papa! He's old, he can get hurt easily..." Yuzu chided. Karin, however, was amused by it all.

"Hey, Ichi, good job shuttin the old goat up. You too, Rukia-chan," she added. "But don't think for a second I buy that story about a project."

"Wha-What do you mean? It's true! We had a project, don't think foolish things like that pervert!" Ichigo said quickly, pointing at the unconscious form of their dad. Karin just waved her hand absently, walking past them into the living room.

"Don't worry, big bro. I figure you went out partying or something. You're way too much of a prude to do anything with Rukia, and it's not like you'd ever be able to get a girl like her anyways," the dark haired girl said as she flipped on the TV to the soccer channel. She kicked off her shoes and looked back to see Ichigo with his mouth agape. "What?"

Ichigo managed to shut his jaw and shouted loud enough for the neighbors to hear, "I am NOT a prude! Just because I don't do things like-like _that_, doesn't mean I'm not a normal guy!"

Karin just nodded before turning back to the game, "Yeah, whatever, Ichi."

Grabbing his hair in tufts, he yelled in frustration before stomping up the stairs to his room. The sound of a door slamming shut was followed by muffled yelling and a few loud thunks, and something that could have been a person screaming in terror... but that was impossible.

"Ichigo! What did you do to Nee-san?" yelled an impudent Kon as the shinigami entered his room. "If you violated her, I-I'll kill you! I'll show you the wrath of the Great Kon! Wait, Ichigo, what are you doing? N-No! Don-!"

Ichigo had taken one look at the lion plushie before picking him up and kicking him like a soccer-ball out the open window, his cry fading into the distance. Wiping his hands, he scowled. He just needed to grab some books and pack a little before tomorrow, then he and Rukia were gonna go out and-and what? _Do something fun, I guess. I wonder what the midget wants to do? Psh, why do I even care? It'll probably be something stupid... But it's not like you'll have any say anyways, Ichigo. _he thought to himself.

_**Hey King, you should head to a strip club.**_

Ichigo's eyes widened as the voice spoke up from the dark corner of his mind. _Shut up, you fucking hollow! It's your fault I have to go train anyways!_

_**Oh, King, if only you'd just take the time to form a relationship with me. Y'know, I like flowers, chocolates, and long walks on the-**_

_Shut UP you bastard!_ Ichigo could almost feel the smirk on Ogihci's face in his words. _Just stay fucking quiet alright? Tomorrow I don't care, but today, I want to just relax, and I swear to Kami if you screw that up I'll personally come in there and screw _you_ up. Understand?_

Silence answered him, and Ichigo hoped the hollow had taken his order seriously. A creak to his side alerted him that Rukia had entered his room. "Close the door, midget," he commanded her, though not rudely. The soft click of the latch followed as he turned to his bookcase, trying to figure out which stories wouldn't have him bored out of his mind when he wasn't training. Shakespeare's Complete Works stood out, so he grabbed that. It was thick, dusty old book, but it would keep him occupied. Turning back around, he addressed Rukia. "Hey, I just wanted to make sure I had this thing out, so we can go out and do something now if ya want," he told her. "We'll come back tonight and leave Kon in my body while I'm gone."

Rukia nodded before asking, "What are we going to do, Ichigo?"

"Dunno. Whatever you want, I guess, as long as it doesn't involve that stupid rabbit or anything girly. I'm not gonna lose my reputation for you."

The raven-haired girl turned up her nose and breathed an annoyed sigh. "Chappy is NOT stupid. But fine, we won't do anything like that. How about we go to the park and eat something?" she suggested as she stuffed her Gigonkan container into her pocket.

The suggestion didn't sound bad to Ichigo, and he was certainly very hungry, "Yeah, that sounds good. Meet ya downstairs in a sec, I gotta go to the bathroom real quick," he answered.

* * *

"Oh, Ichigo, what's _that?_"

Rukia was pointing at a fluttering dragon in the sky. With majestic wings and a bright green color, it was one of the prettiest things she'd ever seen in Karakura town. Why it had a string attaching it to the ground was beyond her understanding though. Ichigo looked up and laughed.

"Baka. That's a kite. Don't you have kites in Soul Society?" he explained.

"N-no? A kite? What does it do? Can you eat it?"

"Che, you really are annoying sometimes. Nah, you can't eat it. It just flies in the air, and you use a string to keep it from blowing away, that's all. I think I remember something about Chinese people using them to fly back a long time ago, but I that's probly a myth."

They had reached the park along the local river, and hundreds of families had gathered to enjoy the beautiful weather. Children ran around and played games, adults strolled casually through the paths, and a couple games of soccer had started up with trash-cans as goal posts. The sun was shining warmly, as a cool breeze blew through and kept things comfortable, and birds were chirping happily. The day was a perfect one to spend outside, especially if you happened to be facing an unknown length of time in a dark abandoned warehouse...

The pair had been walking silently, only the occasional "What's that?" erupting from Rukia's mouth to break the tranquility. Ichigo couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this content. It was just... nice. He was silently grateful that Rukia had uninvited their friends, because he was enjoying this calm walk much more without Inoue constantly talking, or Ishida commenting on how "atrocious" peoples' fashion senses were. Chad would've been fine, but he wasn't the type to just "hang out" anyways.

_Nah,_ he thought,_ this is perfect. I can't remember the last time Rukia and I had alone time li-huh? Alone time? What the hell am I thinkin about, dammit? Che, it's just Rukia. I get plenty of "alone" time with her. When I sleep, when I eat, when I fight hollows-_

_**When are you gonna figure it out, King?**_

_Shit. I thought I told you to shut up?_

_**Eh, fine, but I'm tellin ya, you're an idiot for not realizing it!**_

_Realizing it? Realizing what? _No answer came. _Hey! Don't ignore me, ass! What the hell are you talkin about?_

A sudden tug on his sleeve brought Ichigo back to reality. Looking over he saw Rukia with an excited look in her eyes, an arm outstretched and pointing excitedly at something ahead of them. He looked over and saw a familiar food vendor.

"Look, Ichigo! Icu Creamu!" Rukia practically sung the name of her new favorite food. "Can we get some, please? Pleeeeease?"

Ichigo thought of his poor wallet and shook his head. "No, I don't have much money left, and I'm not spending it on some freakin ice-cream."

A short while later, the pair was in front of Mandy's ice-cream stand, waiting to order. Ichigo now had a rather large bump erupting from underneath his orange hair, and his scowl had grown to near epic proportions. Rukia never took no for an answer, especially when it came to ice-cream, arguments, and chappy. When would he learn?

"Ohaiyo!" Mandy greeted the two with a well-practiced smile. A look of recognition passed her eyes as she looked at the unforgettable couple. _This pair..._ she thought _They're so cute together!_

"Ohaiyo, Mandy-chan, long time no see. How's the business been?" Ichigo stepped forward as Rukia scooted over to pick a flavor.

Mandy laughed, "Oh, well it's only been a couple days since you were last here, so it hasn't changed much! Have you had a chance to tell any of your friends about me yet?" she asked.

"Wha-Oh, yeah, of course! They're all ice-cream freaks," he lied. Ichigo felt bad; he hadn't really had a chance to tell anyone. He meant to, he just hadn't gotten around to it yet!

"Great!" Mandy smiled widely at the news. "In recognition of your service, I'll give you each a free scoop on top of whatever you order!"

Rukia's ears had perked up at the announcement of such generosity and nearly drooled at the thought. What should she get? Peach... Mango... Chocolate... Rocky Road... Strawberry... Vanilla... Bubblegum... Raspberry... Plum... Fudge Brownie... Caramel Pecan... so many choices!

"Hey, Rukia, hurry up and order already, there's a line!" Ichigo said, indicating the growing number of people behind them. Turning to Mandy, he placed his order: "A scoop of chocolate, please, Mandy. Waffle-cone too."

"Hai! Coming right up! And your girlfriend?" the young vendor asked brightly. Ichigo just scowled.

"She's not... whatever. Rukia, hurry up and pick something!"

The petite shinigami pointed in at her favorite flavor of the bunch, "Two-scoops of _strawberry_, please!" she said with a quick smirk in Ichigo's direction. He got the joke, and didn't laugh.

"Hai! Just a sec! Ano, Ichigo?" Mandy asked as she took two heaping scoops of strawberry and put them in a sugar-cone. "What did you want your second scoop to be?"

"Um... How about Caramel Pecan?" he shrugged. It didn't really matter to him, he hadn't wanted ice-cream anyways, but since he was getting a good deal on it...

Mandy smiled and nodded. "Sure thing!" she said as she completed their orders, even going so far as to drizzle chocolate syrup on top of Ichigo's at no extra charge.

She finished ringing them up and handed Ichigo his change. "Oh, Ichigo?" she began, "Can I get you to put these fliers up at your school? I'll be running a special next week for High Schoolers and it would really help if, well, the kids in High School actually knew about the special, y'know?"

Swapping his cone into his left hand, Ichigo reached out and grabbed a stack of green fliers Mandy produced from a cabinet in her cart. They said something about a "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" deal for students with their I.D. cards.

"Yeah, no prob! Thanks again for the great deal Mandy, we'll be sure to put these fliers up around school, right Rukia?"

Rukia's mouth was stuffed full of ice-cream (she'd just discovered that you didn't _have_ to lick it to eat it) so she just nodded and gave an "Mmphmm!"

Mandy grinned, happy she'd found some nice people to help her out. "Aww, thanks guys! I'll be sure to give you two deals all the time, kay? Have a great date!" she waved as they walked away.

Ichigo didn't even turn as he shouted back, "It's not a date!"

The young ice-cream vendor just smiled. She may be young, but she knew a couple when she saw one. She smiled even wider as an idea came to her, turning to take the next order as Rukia and Ichigo walked away.

* * *

Ichigo plopped down onto his bed one last time, stretching out and relaxing. It had been a long day! After ice-cream, they'd gone downtown and window-shopped every single store that ridiculously hyper midget could find. His feet were killing him hours ago, now they just seemed numb from the effort.

Rukia skipped over to her closet and hopped inside, shutting the door for a few moments before emerging in her pajamas. She walked over and sat on the edge of Ichigo's bed with him, still smiling. The gruff teen looked over and asked, "What's up with you? You're awfully happy. Me leavin is that exciting, huh?"

"Nope! I just had fun today, fool. I'm not happy that you're leaving, even if I do get sick of your stupid orange hair sometimes..."

Ichigo snorted, "Chyah, and I get tired of havin to bend down so low for you to hear me all the time... bitch."

"It's not my fault you're freakishly tall, baka. I'll give you a pass on calling me short tonight, since you're leaving," she offered.

Ichigo laid back on his pillow and sighed. "Huh... That's right," he murmered. "I forgot. I was having fun too..."

Rukia looked over at him. His eyes were hidden underneath bright orange bangs, but she could see the small frown on his lips as he continued.

"Thanks, Rukia. I know you had more fun than I did, probably, but I haven't really had fun like that in a while," he admitted.

She was a little shocked to hear serious gratitude coming from such a usually brash friend, but she didn't interupt.

Ichigo turned a little on his side and went on, "I know this sounds sappy, so don't freakin tell anyone I said it, but... I'll miss ya, midget. Come visit or somethin while I'm training, will ya? And keep an eye on Kon. I know he's been doing shit with girls when I'm gone that I do NOT approve of. If you catch him, bring him with ya to see me so I can sort him out, alright?"

Rukia smiled at her partner. "Hai, baka." It was all she needed to say, and they both knew that the unspoken words were, "Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Ichigo smiled, and soon his breathing became regular and deep as he fell asleep one last time in his own bed.

She got up and walked to the door to let him sleep. Stopping, she turned around and looked at his prone figure, something she couldn't describe burning at the back of her mind, like some unasked question or unsaid words, but she couldn't figure out what exactly it was. With a shrug, she flipped off the lights and went into her closet. Now that the Kurosaki family, or at least Isshin, assumed something was going on between them, she didn't really have to hide the fact that she preferred sleeping there. It wasn't like she couldn't sleep anywhere else, she just wanted to be close to Ichigo. _I-I mean... closER to Ichigo! In case something happens and I have to wake the idiot up! Ugh... why am I justifying this?_ she questioned as she drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, a small figure ran from shadow to shadow outside the clinic, muttering curses under its breath. Kon wasn't very happy. "Damn that perverted Ichigo! Kicking me out so he can have Nee-san all to himself... Bastard!"


	10. Goodbye is an Ugly Word

"Ichigo, wake up!"

Ichigo was drawn out of his relaxing sleep by the whispered voice, and groaned loudly. "What? What do you want right now?" he asked without opening his eyes.

Rukia was kneeling by his bedside impatiently, her own sleepiness making it difficult to argue with the stupid orange-head. Poking him in the side, she reminded him, "Baka, it's three in morning, you need to leave for training now so nobody notices!"

Ichigo groaned again as he remembered what day it was. Yeah, Rukia was right, he needed to get up but damn his bed was comfortable. Sighing noisily, he swung the covers off himself and onto Rukia's head as he climbed out. Walking over to his desk he unlocked a drawer and pulled out his shinigami representative badge, then looked around his room as if to take a mental picture. _I'm gonna miss this place while I'm gone_ he thought, _but it seems like I'm forgetting something..._

He didn't have time to remember though, as Rukia finally pulled the covers off her head and threw them at him. A nerve pulsed on her forehead as she whisper-shouted, "Baka, your covers smell worse than a hollow! Don't throw them on me!"

The two glared at eachother, their sleepiness not helping their moods at all. Before either could speak, however, a short knock on the window got their attention. Looking over they saw Shinji upside down with a lop-sided grin, holding a squirming Kon.

"Kon! That's what I was forgetting!" Ichigo slapped his forehead. Without Kon his body would just lay on the floor and look dead, which would be difficult to explain when he returned. The lion plushie jerked at that and starting ranting.

"Ichigo, you orange-haired ogre! How dare you throw me out the window so you could have Nee-san all to yourself! And then you forgot about me?" he whined.

Shinji tossed him on the bed as he swung in through the window. "So, Ichigo, ya ready ta get outta here and train? Ya know Hiyori misses ya, 'specially after the other night..." he teased, looking around the room with joking eyes. "This yer room? Eh, I woulda thought a big'un like yerself woulda needed a little more space. Yer gettin fat since ya stopped trainin, y'know."

Ichigo snorted, "Give it a rest, Shinji, and keep your voice down dammit, if my dad hears anything in this room he'll think things I don't wanna hear about. Plus, he can't know I'm leaving!"

Rukia nodded in agreement. She knew all too well what sorts of thoughts Isshin had in his perverted brain. And she had caught Shinji trying to look down girls shirts when he was in their class, too... _Men, they're all the same._

"Eh? Your old man, Isshin? Why not?" Shinji's question stunned them.

"Wha-What? You know my dad?" Ichigo fell back in shock as his mind raced. Suddenly he remembered a particular moment, one that he'd cast off as nothing.

_The hollow growled. __**"Screw you, King. My name's Ogihci Abihs. Yeah, it's your name spelt backwards, but guess what? That's my name."**_

_Ichigo turned a curious eye as he twisted what he was certain was a doorknob. "Abihs? That spells..."_

_**"Shiba,"**__ Ogihci interrupted. __**"Yeah, your old man's a liar. If you were better at sensin Reiatsu maybe you woulda figured it out, dumbass."**_

"My dad's a shinigami!" he exclaimed, a wide grin replacing his shocked look. "Oh, that old pervert doesn't think I know! I'm gonna kick his ass!" Ichigo said, pounding his fist into his hand.

Rukia was still confused. It wouldn't be possible for Isshin to be a shinigami, she would have detected him by now! The only shinigami capable of hiding themselves from her senses were the captains, so either Ichigo was wrong or... _No way! Kurosaki-sama might be an ex-captain? I don't remember anyone looking like him though..._

Shinji just smiled and tossed Kon on the ground. "Lion-o, I think you should explain to'em," he suggested to the plush-toy.

All eyes were on Kon, who closed his eyes and proudly recounted the story of how he'd been saved from Grand Fisher by the elder Kurosaki, who also had a captain's haori. He was in the middle of explaining how he had valiantly held off the Arrancar until Isshin arrived, protecting beautiful women and valley goddesses from harm when a loud yell interupted him.

"Ah-HAH! You bastard, you thought you could hide shit like this from me, huh?" Ichigo yelled from inside his dad's room. He had left halfway through Kon's story to go confront his dad. Sounds of a scuffle could be heard, with Isshin making muffled yells as Ichigo laughed maniacally. "I'm gonna hold this over your head forever, old man! You hear me? A fucki-OOF!"

"Language, my son, language! Don't want to teach those grandbabies growing inside my third-daughter any foul words, do we?" Isshin managed to break free just as Shinji, Rukia, Kon, and the newly awakened Yuzu and Karin opened the door. What they saw could not be unseen, unfortunately.

Isshin was in nothing but his custom-printed Masaki boxer-briefs, sitting on Ichigo's face, smiling as he braced himself against the wall. Ichigo's body was flapping wildly, trying to get free from such an awkward position. Isshin broke into wild laughter as a small fart released on Ichigo's face. The next thing anyone knew, Ichigo had used his substitute badge to escape his body and was coughing heavily.

"A-Ack! What the _hell_ you freak?"

Isshin didn't reply immediately, but stood up and brushed himself off. Flashing a smile to the small crowd gathered in his room, he got serious.

"Ah, my son... I suppose it is time stopped hiding things from you... But first, Shinji?" he looked from the Vizard leader to his two daughters pointedly. Shinji nodded and with a flash the two girls were knocked out, their memories erased by one of Urahara's inventions.

"Thank you, Shinji. Rukia-chan, Ichigo, you deserve an explanation." Isshin looked over at the massive framed portrait of Masaki hanging over his bed. He had really hoped that their children would be spared from involvement in Soul Society's business, but apparently fate had other plans. _Oh, Masaki, I am sorry about this..._

Ichigo sat down on the floor and pulled Rukia down next to him. "Go on, old man, start talkin'!"

"I'm a shinigami, Ichi-"

"I KNEW IT!" the younger Kurosaki interrupted triumphantly. Rukia knocked him on the head and signaled to shut up.

"Eh? Thank you, Rukia-chan. As I was saying before my bull-headed son rudely interrupted, I'm a shinigami, and..." he paused for dramatic effect, "A former captain."

Silence.

"What? You aren't surprised?" he asked curiously. He was certain they'd be stunned by that news. _Damn, I waited forever to do this and they aren't even surprised?_

Ichigo snorted. "Yeah, right. Like an idiot like you could be a captain? You can't even win against a locked door!"

"That was one time! Besides, it's true! Shinji, tell him it's true!" Isshin whined.

Shinji shrugged. "Yeah, he was a cap'n back when I was. I dunno how he got the job, right, but he was a cap'n anyways."

Isshin grinned. "Shinji and I had our share of adventures with Urahara, eh, Hara-kun?"

Shinji's glared as he ordered, "Told ya not ta call me that, _Shiba-dono_"

"Shinji! You gave away my se-!"

"Would you just finish your story, dammit?" Ichigo shouted, no longer worrying about the neighbors.

Isshin turned back to the pair on the floor and continued, occasionally shooting looks towards Shinji, miffed about ruining the part about his last name.

"Well, as you could probably guess thanks to _certain_ people and their loose lips, I'm not actually Kurosaki Isshin. I'm Shiba Isshin, and I'm the former captain of Eleventh squad. The Greatest Kenpachi of them all! That's what they called me!" he said proudly.

Ichigo and Rukia sweatdropped. This buffoon had been the captain of 11th squad? What if Soul Society had been attacked? He was supposed to help defend?

Isshin checked his watch as he explained his story, and stopped. "Ichigo, it's time to go. The Onmitsukido patrol comes at daybreak, in an hour. You need to get into the Vizard hideout before then."

"W-wait! You haven't explained shit! Why'd you leave Soul Society? Why haven't you been helping out? How come Rukia's never noticed you before?" Ichigo asked, then asked the one question Isshin knew he had been waiting to ask his whole life. "Why didn't you protect mom that night?" the son asked the father, with his voice cracking slightly.

Isshin sighed. "Ichigo, I promise you, I will explain in due time. I just wanted this to be a short explanation today. I'll come visit you while you train, of course. We can talk then."

Shinji tapped Ichigo on the shoulder, "Oi, time ta go, aight? Stick that mod soul in your body and say g'bye, it'll be bout a month."

Rukia and Ichigo stood up, Rukia still looking in awe at Isshin, Ichigo glaring, and after popping Kon into the shell of Ichigo's body they walked back to his room to prepare.

As soon as they got in his room, Ichigo shut the door and sighed. He looked over at Rukia and flashed a smirk.

"What?" she asked.

"Heh, you have to deal with that dumbass while I'm gone, _and_ you're gonna have to watch Kon. It's just funny tryin to picture a midget dealin wit-OW HEY!"

Rukia glared up at Ichigo, her fist three inches into his gut. "Baka, you'd think you could be a little nicer since I will be taking care of this place while you're gone!"

Ichigo winced, then asked, "That reminds me, Rukia, how are you gonna take care of things on your own? No offense, but you still have school and there are a lot of hollows that show up."

"Fool, don't you remember who was in the room when you woke up at Urahara's?"

Ichigo looked up as he went through the names, "Inoue, Ishida, Chad, you, Urahara... Well Urahara's never been much help, and the others have scho-"

"Renji!" Rukia shouted. "Renji was there! He's going to help. Golly, you'd think you would remember his hair at least, fool."

Ichigo couldn't help but laugh, "Okay, wait. Golly? You know nobody says that anymore, right? And Renji? Really? That dumbass couldn't beat me back when I was weaker than the hollows that are showin up, how's he gonna beat the hollows now?"

Rukia mumbled something about getting stronger, but Ichigo wasn't listening.

"On top of that, doesn't he need one of those visor thingies to find anything?"

Rukia huffed. "_No_, he doesn't, now stop talking and leave!"

Ichigo held up his hands in protest as she began pushing him towards to window. His heel caught on something on the floor and he tumbled backwards with a yell, falling backwards out of his window and hitting the ground with a loud thump. Rukia stood staring out the window with her "schoolgirl" smile plastered on her face, waving dramatically.

"Bye-bye, Ichigo! Have fun training and becoming stronger! Don't come back til you aren't weak!" she teased.

Ichigo pushed himself up just as Shinji turned the corner, the bag of Ichigo's things in his hand.

"Ne, Ichigo, that girlie really has the hots for ya, huh?"

Ichigo shook his head, "What? As if. Why, are girls supposed to ALMOST KILL YOU when they like you?" he said, shouting up at the open window. Before he could walk away, a book flew out the window and cracked into his skull.

Nerves pulsed in his forehead as he picked up the dusty tome, and Rukia's voice called out from his room.

"You might want that! I saw you reading it yesterday..."

Shakespeare: The Complete Works... _Huh... Guess the midget can be nice after all._ "Hey, Rukia? Be sure to take care of my family."

With that, and one last look at his home, Ichigo flashed away with his new mentor, ready for more of what he knew would be the toughest training of his life.

Meanwhile, Rukia sat in Ichigo's room alone. It felt weird without him already, since his reiatsu was almost always surrounding her.

"Eh, at least I finally get the bed."


	11. Death, Again!

"Ohayou gozaimasu! Class, we're welcoming back one of our transfer students from earlier this year. You probably all remember Abarai Renji?" Misato Ochi announced to her class with an overly bright smile.

"Hai! Ohayou, Abarai-san!" They answered in unison. How could they have forgotten him? A twenty-year old with tattoos everywhere joining their class?

Renji was standing at the front with a ridiculously large smile on his face, when Ochi-sensei motioned towards the back of the room. "Abarai-san, you may sit yourself next Kurosaki-san's desk back there, like last time."

"Hai, Ochi-sensei! Arigatou gozaimasu!" he said, then made his way past the ogling girls and irritated guys to reach his seat. He bowed politely and smiled to each person he saw, until he sat down, when he let out a big rush of air and scowled.

It was the day after Ichigo left for training, and Renji had once again joined class 3A to stay closer to Rukia in case a hollow attacked. He had tried to drag Ikkaku and Yumichika along this time too, but they had mentioned something about a Combat Tournament being hosted by the Eleventh Division. It would be the most "badass" and "beautiful" tournament ever held, but he hadn't had time to ask why.

Now he was wishing he'd stayed in Soul Soceity for the tournament. How the hell was he supposed to do this for a month?

-Earlier-

"Renji! Pay attention! We only have another hour before school, and you must learn how to act properly around living people," Rukia scolded her old friend. She was on her knees with her trusty drawing pad out, ready to sketch anything she couldn't explain in words. Renji was relaxed on the floor of Ichigo's room, leaning against the bed while Kon in Ichigo's body flipped through a collection of magazines he had pulled out of a loose floorboard. Renji had tried to get a look at them but a couple murderous glares from Rukia had convinced him they weren't worth it.

He snapped to attention, "Sorry! Sorry, geez, what were you talkin about?"

Rukia let out a frustrated sigh before she explained, "I was telling you how to act around other people when they speak to you, baka. You know, you're worse than Ichigo at lis-"

"WHOA! Hold on, don't you start comparing me to him!" he cried.

Rukia grinned smugly. "Then be quiet and pay attention. I won't have you embarassing me in front of everyone."

She went over how to say "Onigeishimasu" and "Arigatou" for everything, how to kow-tow to everyone, and how to smile whenever anyone can see you. By the end of it Renji was feeling more like a woman than he'd felt that one time when Yumichika got drunk and started hitting on "the simply beautiful red-haired lady".

After forty-five minutes of lecturing, Renji couldn't stand it any more. "Alright, alright! I get it! Geez, I just have to be nice to everyone right?"

Rukia nodded. "Hai! Now, are you ready?" she asked as she pointed to the window sill. "Go out that way. You can't leave through the house with us because Ichigo's sisters don't know about everything yet."

Renji was halfway out the window, but twisted his neck to look back in surprise. "They don't know? How the- you know what? Nevermind. See ya outside, shorty," he said over his shoulder as he dropped out of view.

"Come on, Kon, we need to go to school. And those perverted magazines will be GONE by tonight, understand?" Rukia nodded to the body of Ichigo which was still flipping through pages hungrily, possessed as it was by the perverted mod-soul.

"But Nee-san!" he whined, which was thoroughly disturbing since he sounded just like Ichigo, the man who wouldn't be caught dead whining. "If I can't use _these_ then I'll have to use _real_ wom-!" he started to explain then stopped with a hungry look in his eye. "Nee-san, you're truly a genius!" he exclaimed as he dove in for a hug, trying to put his face in the beautiful valley of the goddess. *WHACK* "Oww Nee-san! What was that for?"

-Present-

"Abarai? What the hell is your stupid tattooed ass doing back here?" Tatsuki's voice cut across the room as she walked in late, a look of surprise plastered on her face.

Renji looked over and cringed. Last time he saw this girl, it meant only pain... She gave him a strange look before sitting down, and he turned back to the window. He noticed Rukia scribbling on her notepad and leaned over to see what she was up to. He gawked at her drawing of what looked like a bear, or a cat, or a- screw it, it was too crappy to know.

_She always sketched so poorly..._ he thought. Renji tried to get his attention back on the class but found it impossible. Soon enough he began daydreaming about his past in the Rukongai, and how he had come to know and even love this girl, so much that he'd even come to the real world to help her out. _Though I guess Kuchiki-taichou threatening to practice using his latest Senbonzakura techniques on me if I didn't watch her had something to do with it too... Sick bastard._

_Rukia..._

_"Hey slowpoke! Come on!"_

_"Aah, what do you want?"_

_"Dummy, just come with me, you'll see!"_

_Small feet pattered along the dirt of the lower Rukongai as two young children ran through busy streets to a destination only one knew. She was petite and pale, the one in front, but a second glance revealed a quiet inner strength and will to survive. The boy following her was lean and tall, his bright hair an unusual sight in the dusty city. Both of them had lived through taunting and torment until they found each other through chance, along with a group of other children without families or homes. _

_The girl turned a corner and the boy nearly lost sight of her as he shouted her name._

_"Rukia! Slow down already! I'm tired, are we almost there?"_

_The girl, Rukia, looked back as she ran and smiled._

_"Stupid Renji, haven't you guessed it yet?"_

_Renji panted back, "Guessed what?"_

_"Where we're going! How can you not have gotten it by now?" she asked as she turned and stuck out her tongue. "You are pretty dumb, aren't you, dummy?"_

_Renji growled, "Why you-!" and nearly ran her over as she stopped. "Wha-Why'd ya stop, midget?"_

_Violet eyes shot fire at her hated nickname, but she turned and pointed. Just ahead was a large tree with easy to climb branches growing on a grassy hill overlooking the city. "Here! We're here. I can't believe you didn't guess it. This is where-" Rukia started to explain but was cut off as Renji interupted._

_"Where we made the promise to always be friends, yeah, I know... Stupid midget, like I'd forget something like that?"_

_She turned up her nose and huffed, "Well you seem to have forgotten to not make fun of my height, pineapple."_

_Renji walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, Rukia, it's just fun to tease you," he said with a smirk._

_She responded by elbowing him in the stomach. As he crunched into a ball and gasped for breath she said, "Alright, first one to the to the top of the tree gets bragging rights for a week! Loser has to cook!"_

"Hnnh... Rukiaaa... The tree.. The tree is too tall for a midg... For a midget... Ru-" *BONK*

Renji sat up cursing in pain and looked around. He was still in class and everyone was staring at him. _Oh shit, was I sleeping?_ he thought, then sensed a shadow to his left. Peeking over he saw Rukia sitting with a book raised as though ready to strike him, and her face was beet red. He was about to apologize when she suddenly entered school-girl mode.

"Ano, gomenesai, Abarai-san! I accidentally lost control of my book and it hit you on the head! Ahaha! You look weak, should I take you to the nurse's office?" she said dramatically, causing Renji to sweatdrop.

Before he could say anything she was already dragging him out the door towards the nurse's office. As soon as they were outside she kicked him hard and glared.

"Don't fall asleep in class, baka! And what were you thinking, dreaming about climbing a tree with me? We're supposed to barely know each other here!" she scolded.

Renji was saved from explaining himself when Rukia's soul-pager beeped. Flipping it open, she frowned, then looked at Renji. "Well, it looks like one weak hollow. Strange, they normally arrive in groups lately. We should leave our gigais on the roof, the others will know what's going on and keep them safe," she explained.

Moments later they were flying through the air towards the location of the hollow alert, and Renji couldn't help but smile as he thought of that promise so many years ago... _We'll always be friends... Some day though... Some day it'll be more._

They neared the location of the hollow and slowed down, stopping on a rooftop to catch their breath before going in to a fight. Rukia stood with her back to Renji, and he felt a warm smile on his lips when he saw how the afternoon light was shining on her raven hair. _Purple..._ he thought, _why does it always shine purple?_

*CRASH*

"Whoaaaa!" Renji yelled as the roof underneath him collapsed, sending him crashing through multiple stories of the building.

"HYYYRRRROOOOAAAARRR!" the loud roar of a hollow filled the air as Renji hit the bottom floor, hard.

"Oof!"

Rukia had mananged to jump away before her section caved in, and she stood peering through the dust to try and spot Renji. "Renji!" she called out. Hearing no reply, she drew Sode no Shirayuki from her sheath and leapt down through the dust.

Immediately after touching the ground, she dodged to the side to avoid a massive tentacle that erupted from where she'd landed. More tentacles began to shoot up out of the ground, and Rukia looked around for any sign of Renji, finally spotting him struggling with a few tentacles that were wrapped around his chest, squeezing hard. His face was red from the exertion, so she moved as fast as she could to cut him free and jump away with him before he succumbed to the pressure. They wound up on the remains of the third floor, looking down into a sea of tentacles with wide eyes.

Rukia shook her head, "The report said it was only a weak hollow, but the reiatsu I'm sensing from this is... unbelievable!"

"Yeah, well, I _believe_ that this bastard is gonna have a nice long date with ZABIMARU!" Renji cried as he released his fanged blade and jumped back into the fray.

"Take THAT! And THAT! You want some more? Come get some!" he shouted, spinning Zabimaru in a massive bladed circle around his head. Left, right, up, down, the blade went in all directions to slice through the hollow appendages like butter. He had cut all the tentacles down to tiny wriggling stumps after awhile, but the reaitsu signature had remained just as strong.

"Renji, watch out, the hollow is sti-" *CRRA-A-A-SH* the floor literally exploded as a monstrous hollow climbed through on four gigantic legs.

Rukia coughed out dust, then looked back at Renji only to find herself stunned. _No... no it can't be..._ she thought as she stared at the hollow. "Renji!" she screamed, "Don't let it touch you!"

Renji turned to her as he fired a Shakkahou at the beast's face to distract it. He saw a look of pure terror and anguish on Rukia's face that he only seen twice before in all the time they'd known eachother. _That night Kuchiki-taicho nearly killed Ichigo for stealing her powers... And the night Kaien died,_ he remembered. "Rukia, what's wrong? What'll happen if it touches me?" he asked as he dodged a stray tentacle.

Rukia was shaking, her sword arm wouldn't lift itself, but she stared at the hollow with all the hatred in her soul. With heavy eyes, she turned to her lifetime friend.

"If it touches you, it will be worse than death."


	12. Refresher

"Well, that was unusual. Kurosaki, aren't you the one Kuchiki-san usually drags out of class?"

The rest of the class had watched in silence as their newest transfer student was dragged out by a girl half his size, and now it was lunch time. Mizuiro was walking next to who he thought was Ichigo as the group headed upstairs, prodding him for answers.

"I mean," he continued, "Rukia _does_ seem to always disappear with you during class. Did something happen between you?"

Kon, in Ichigo's body, was listening to this and grinding his teeth in anger. _How dare that heathen, Ichigo, take advantage of my beautiful Nee-San during class! That horn-dog just can't keep it in his pants... I'll teach him!_ he thought, unintentionally pulling off a perfect "Ichigo scowl" as he raged.

He didn't react as Keigo charged into him and embraced him, much to the surprise of the friends behind him. Ishida leaned forward and whispered, "Mod-soul! Kurosaki never lets Keigo get away with touching him. Hit him in the head or something!"

Keigo overheard and whined, "Mod-soul? You mean... Is Ichigo off fighting those monster things again?"

Light glinted off of his glasses as Ishida whispered in Kon's ear again, "Really, hit him."

The group laughed as Kon kicked the poor guy into the nearest row of lockers and continued up to the roof. Kon was still fuming about his precious goddess being violated every day, but he kept his thoughts to himself. _Just like Ichigo_...

When they reached the roof, Chad looked around and disappeared for a moment, showing up again a minute later with the bodies of Rukia and Renji over his shoulders.

Ishida raised an eyebrow. "They really should have used their gigonkan, someone could have found those bodies easily. Tsch... I suppose expecting shinigami to use their heads is asking too much?"

They all sat down for lunch, and as usual Orihime offered up the contents of her lunch, and as usual there were no takers. Ishida finished first and stood up to stretch out as he examined their little group, the only humans in the world that knew about the world of souls.

Chad was being stoic as always. If Keigo and Mizuiro were freaked out by the bodies, they showed no signs of it. Inoue, however, seemed very distracted. Ishida noticed and nodded at her.

"Orihime-chan, is something wrong?" he asked, kneeling down in front of her. She looked up and he could see the worry in her eyes.

"Don't you feel it? They're fighting right now, but..." she started then trailed off.

Ishida placed a hand over hers, ignoring the heat that rose in his cheeks as he asked, "Orihime-chan, what's wrong? I can't sense anything at all. Do they need help?"

She didn't get a chance to answer, because at that precise moment they all felt the spirit pressure of a Bankai.

* * *

"_If it touches you, it will be worse than death._"

Renji was ducking and weaving through the massive forest of tentacles that were shooting out of the hollow's mouth when he realized he couldn't win in just Shikai. He looked to Rukia, who was still unable to move, and shouted, "Rukia! I'm gonna use my Bankai! It'll destroy this building, so get out of here!"

Rukia, meanwhile, was frozen, lost in her thoughts. She had come to terms with Kaien's death during her fight with the Ninth Espada, Aaroniero, but seeing what could only be the same hollow- **Hmph. You call yourself a shinigami?**

The sudden voice in her head was followed by a strange feeling, like the world was slowing down and stopping. Rukia couldn't understand what was happening, and panicked.

_A voice in my head? Is it this hollow?_ she thought, and was answered with laughter.

**Hah! A hollow? Really, Kuchiki Rukia, I'm insulted.**

Rukia thought for a moment before realizing, "Sode no Shirayuki?"

She could suddenly feel a part of her soul smiling. The warmth of it spread throughout her and brought movement to her limbs, allowing her to jump to safety just as Renji released his Bankai. The building collapsed in on itself behind her, throwing up a huge cloud of dirt and dust. She could see living people running in fear away from the mysteriously crumbling structure, unaware of the battle that raged around them.

Zabimaru's massive bony segments were the first shapes to appear through the haze, a red glow emanating from between them as Renji charged up and fired a Baboon Bone Cannon at the hollow. Rukia was still basking in the ever-increasing warmth that Sode no Shirayuki was bringing to her. _Ironic,_ she thought., _since she is the queen of ice..._

Suddenly she felt a falling sensation, and blacked out momentarily. She awoke in a strange place, somewhere she didn't recognize, though somehow it struck her as familiar. Rukia bent down and touched the snowy ground. Sure enough, the cold was really there in this strange wonderland of ice she was in. She looked around in awe, then jumped as she heard a light cough behind her.

**"Ahem..."**

Rukia's eyes grew wider than she'd ever thought possible as she saw who it was.

"Are you...?" she began. _Beautiful! She's... She's gorgeous! It was said that she was the most beautiful Zanpakuto in all of Soul Society, but never did I expect that to apply to both the sword and its spirit..._

Before her stood Sode no Shirayuki, clad in a long white gown with crystal blue accents. Her arctic white hair contrasted with her sea-blue eyes, and perhaps most striking about her appearance was her height. She was closer to Ichigo than Rukia, and yet she still managed to maintain a slender, delicate frame. It was hard for Rukia not to just be a _little_ jealous of her.

**"Rukia, why are you afraid of this hollow?"** asked the spirit with a concerned frown.

Rukia turned away and stared at a spot on the ground a few yards off before she replied. "I... It looks just like the hollow that killed Kaien-dono. I'm worried about Renji, I don't want to lose him like I lost Kaien-dono," she explained sadly.

A cool hand landed softly on her shoulder and she looked back to see Sode no Shirayuki smirking. "Silly girl, can you not see the differences? What was the first thing that happened when that man Kaien struck the hollow with his blade?"

Thinking for a moment, Rukia answered, "His weapon disappeared, the hollow had some ability that destroyed the blade on contact."

"Correct. And yet your friend Renji has repeatedly struck the creature without losing his blade."

Realization dawned on Rukia, and she turned to her Zanpakuto spirit with a frown. "Sode no Shirayuki, forgive me my foolishness, I should have noticed that!"

**"Do not worry, no harm has come of your mistake. We will speak again, Rukia, and for now I will aid you in your fight, and teach you your final dance..."** said the beautiful spirit as the winter wonderland dissolved around Rukia. White faded to grey as the buildings of Karakura came in to view, and a new power hummed through the hilt of Shirayuki, causing it to glow brilliant white.

Words formed like ancient memories in the back of her mind as Rukia tightened her grip on her sword. Her lips parted slightly to whisper the name of her final shikai attack...

* * *

"Shit!" Renji swore loudly as yet another tentacle erupted from the ground. He was running out of reiatsu, and the strain of his Bankai was beginning to show. A small bead of sweat trickled down his cheek as he turned to bock the latest attack.

"Dammit! Where the hell's Ichigo when you need him?"

He gritted his teeth as he brought Zabimaru crashing down again, firing a barrage of Baboon Cannon shots as he did. He didn't see the tentacle behind him until it was too late.

Flashes of his long existence flashed before his eyes as Renji realized Zabimaru couldn't move fast enough to defend. The words Rukia spoke earlier resounded in his head, "_Worse than death,_"...

"**Saishuu no Mai : Ochizuki!**" a blinding flash of white surrounded Renji along with a blast of cold like nothing he'd ever felt as Rukia's voice echoed through the shattered building. He looked and saw the tentacle frozen mere inches from his head, wrapped in a case of ice. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned back to the hollow just in time to see what looked like a massive sphere of ice crash into it. On impact, the orb exploded into a thousand massive icicles, each penetrating the hollow and the ground around it. Immediately after the last icicle slammed into the ground, a glowing white energy connected them all in a web of freezing power, and the hollow became a solid ice sculpture which shattered into a million crystals that drifted in the wind.

Mouth agape, Renji turned to Rukia. "H-how the hell? Rukia! What was that?" he asked incredulously.

The raven-haired girl he'd come to love had just annihilated a hollow with a single attack, without even entering a bankai! The shinigami in question dropped down from her perch on the fourth story and ran over to Renji with a grin.

"Are you alright, Renji?" she asked, still smiling.

The red-haired man just nodded meekly.

Rukia grinned wider. "Did you like that attack? Shirayuki told me the name of my final dance: Falling Moon!" she said excitedly, "It creates a massive orb of ice that crushes the enemy, then shatters and impales it before freezing it!"

All Renji could do was stare.

Rukia's smile shrank a little as she noticed his blank expression. *WHACK* "Baka! At least pretend you're excited for me!" she shouted. "It's not often I get to learn a new technique!"

"A new technique, Kuchiki-san? Do tell..."

Renji and Rukia both turned to look up as Uryuu, Chad, Orihime, and Kon appeared on the remains of the first floor above them.

"Ishida! Sado! Orihime! Why are you here?" Rukia asked in surprise, then let out a muffled yell as she was bowled over by Kon in Ichigo's body. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her into a bear hug that somehow left his face right on her chest. Orihime was trying not to look at the sight, since it still _looked _like Ichigo was all over Rukia...

"Nee-san! Are you alright? Did you get hurt? My beautiful goddess of the valley, you mustn't place yourself in harms w-OOF!" he cried as her foot crushed into his face and knocked him back. She stood there fuming for a moment before she turned back to Ishida.

"Why are you all here?" she asked with a trace of a blush.

Before Ishida could reply, Orihime started explaining in her usual wacky way. "Well, we were in class, then you and Abarai-kun left, and I guess you went to go fight a hollow because you didn't come back like you normally do, and oh there's a rumour that you two are engaged now that Asano-san started," she began. Renji's eyebrow went up at the mention of the rumour, and Orihime was still going, "So then we were at lunch and Sado-kun found your bodies and we hid them so don't worry about that but anyways I was eating my peanut-peach brittle when I felt you two fighting. My first thought was that maybe you were being abducted by aliens that came to research our planet like in that movie I saw the other day but-" she was cut off by Ishida's hand being placed firmly over her mouth, much to the relief of everyone else. Even Chad was looking a little relieved, which said a lot.

"What she's trying to say," Ishida started, his hand still covering Orihime's mouth (she was mumbling through it, somehow oblivious to it), "is that we felt Abarai-san use his bankai and decided that it would be best to come assist you. However, it appears we didn't need to waste our time after all. Still, I would like to know what you meant by a 'new technique', Kuchiki-san."

Rukia nodded and jumped up with Renji to begin the walk home as she explained all about her latest technique to the others. When she got to the part about the icicles impaling the hollow, Ishida commented on how similar that was to Byakuya-taichou's own attacks which cover wide areas. Rukia blushed at what she considered a compliment, saying she wasn't even close to her Nii-sama, and they all laughed at her modesty.

They had already missed the rest of school, so they parted ways and the two Shinigami returned to their bodies on the rooftop, weary after their fight. Rukia realized that as effective as her final dance was, it drained a lot of reiatsu, and should only be used for emergencies.

"Renji?" she asked as they left the school grounds.

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever tried ice-cream?"

* * *

**A/N: [ Saishuu no Mai : Ochizuki ] — 最終の舞・落月**

**(Final Dance: Falling Moon)**


	13. Gaining a Foothold

**DISCLAIMER: **I own the shit out of this story. You hear me? I OWN IT. MINE MINE MINE! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

**A/N: OI! Please review my story if you're reading this! I can't improve if you don't tell me how!**

* * *

"**What's so funny?" Ichigo's hollow voice rattled the air around him. His yellow eyes narrowed and focused as his opponent forced his blade backward, slowing it to a stop just in time to avoid being cut. The man he had locked blades with looked coolly back and smirked.**

"**You failed to kill me, Kurosaki Ichigo..." Aizen's words carried with them the significant truth; Ichigo had **_**failed **_**yet again. "That," he continued with a smirk, "was your last chance."**

**All around them the battlefield smoldered. Karakura Town, or this false recreation as it were, was something out of a 1940's nuclear test video. The few buildings that remained standing were doing so precariously, and if there had been any walls adorning the empty frames of structures, there were none now. Wind blew up dust and garbage from the debris, and swirled around the bodies of the many Arrancar and Shinigami that had fallen in combat. A great crater marred the center of this site, a memorial for their last real chance at defeating Aizen. Yamamoto had left the deep hole when he used the forbidden 96th Self-Sacrificial Hado, in a last bid-attempt to stop the rogue captain's onslaught. An explosion to rival that of the Second Sun of Nagasaki had ripped through the area, as the old general fought and fell for Soul Society. There had been no sign of him since, and it looked as though his fight was over.**

**Ichigo's fight, however, had just begun.**

**

* * *

**

If anyone were walking around in front of the large warehouse tucked away in the city outskirts, they might have heard or felt a small tremor and thought an earthquake had happened in China. Then again, they might have thought they were hungry, so it's best not to speculate. If they had gone in to the building, though, and down the odd hatch in the center of the floor, they probably would have preferred it to be an earthquake.

"HAAAAAHHHHHH!" Ichigo roared as he swung the cleaver shaped blade of Zangetsu down towards his opponent. "Getsuga-" he began, before a sandaled foot connected squarely with his groin. "GAHIIIEEEEE!" he cried out, manly at first but pitching upward into a squeal of un-manly pain.

"What the hell'd you do that for, Hiyori?" he wheezed, clutching at his damaged goods. "If my kids turn out deformed I swear I'll kill your sorry ass!"

Shinji grinned and spoke from his perch above the two. "Damn, Ichigo, you really gotta learn to protect what's important to ya." he said to the doubled-over teenager before him. He knew his choice of words would stir something in the boy, he had kept close watch on him since that day Urahara had brought the Vizards to Karakura, and he knew Ichigo would need to truly release his anger in order to master his powers. He looked towards the ladder behind him and wondered what time it was outside. They'd been at it for days, the boy wouldn't quit! '_Though I s'pose that's to be expected, he is just like his father after all...'_

Ichigo was on the ground still, thinking about his teacher's words. '_What is important to me?' _he wondered. _'Why do I fight?'_

Images of countless battles flashed through his mind, and with each battle he considered why he'd fought it. His first hollow, for his family. The faces of Karin and Yuzu swam smiling through his mind, followed by his father Isshin's goofy grin. Then he fought Renji, Byakuya, Jidanbou, Ikkaku, Kenpachi, and pretty much the entire Gotei 13, for Rukia. Their faces, once enemies but now close friends, briefly flitted across his vision. When he fought the Arrancar Grimmjow, it was for Rukia and Inoue. Aizen... why had he fought Aizen? _'Was it for my family? No... that feels wrong. Orihime? No... she... she's my nakama, but it wasn't for her, or for any of my other friends really... Then why? Why did I fight Aizen?'_

A hand appeared in his vision, slender yet strong. He followed it up, past the ivory wrist, the pearly arm, the shoulder covered by a small lock of raven hair. Ichigo's breath caught in his chest as he realized what his mind was showing him. Or rather, _who_ his mind was showing him.

"_Rukia...'_", he whispered. A flood of memories and emotions came roaring through his head then. From the moment they met, from her granting him the power to save the people he loved, to the time she brought him back from the edge of insanity after his loss to -WHAM-

"Oi, Ichigo! You okay in there?" Shinji asked loudly as Hiyori continued to kick Ichigo in the side.

"DAMMIT, STOP DOING THAT!"

* * *

"**Excellent," Aizen said, letting the Karakura boy's reiatsu melt away from his hand. He motioned to the black energy and explained, "It's well developed, just as I had planned..."**

**Ichigo was stunned. **_**Did Aizen plan all of this? Is he the reason I have an inner hollow? **_**He slowly moved Zangetsu into a defensive position as he listened to Aizen describe the whole plan.**

"**You encountered Kuchiki Rukia," he began, and didn't fail to notice the spike in the boy's reiatsu at the mention of his friend's name. "And through your fight with Ishida Uryuu you became aware of your power as a Shinigami. Then, in your fight against Abarai Renji, you learned the power of your own zanpakuto." Aizen paused before continuing, observing the unique black cloak the boy wore in his bankai state. "You gained a foothold towards bankai in your battle with Zaraki Kenpachi, and you advanced down the path to hollowfication during your confrontation with Kuchiki Byakuya."**

**Ichigo's eyes widened. How had Aizen gathered so much information on his activities? Hadn't he been in hiding the whole time they were in Soul Society?**

**As the last of Ichigo's reiatsu faded from Aizen's fingers he finished his analysis of the boy's experiences. "In your battle with Grimmjow, you mastered hollowfication. And," he added with a sinister gleam in his eyes. "It seems that during your battle with Ulquiorra... You gained a power greater than that."**

* * *

Ichigo brought Zangetsu down into a ground-stabbing position, charging it up with explosive reiatsu. Black energy surrounded the obsidian blade as he poured more of his power into it. This was a new technique he'd devised after watching the way Urahara fought with his zanpakuto, Benihime. Rather than slashing at every enemy, he figured it might be good to have a way to deal with those enemies with ultra-strong defenses.

When he sensed the blade had enough energy stored, he stabbed it into the ground.

"Whatcha doin Ichi-" Hiyori's question was cut off by a sudden, massive explosion that ripped through the ground underneath her and enveloped her in searing reiatsu. It was only her exceptional speed and quick donning of her hollow mask that saved her from winding up in about a thousand pieces, and she observed how the fountain of energy had actually managed to explode over fifty feet away from where Ichigo had plunged his blade in the ground.

Lifting Zangetsu out of the ground, Ichigo did a quick reiatsu-check to make sure Hiyori was okay. Satisfied he was, he called out to the blonde-haired girl, "Oi, Munchkin! You like that? I call it Tsuchigo Tenshou*!" Hiyori's string of colorful curses assured him she was alright, but definitely not please with his new attack.

Shinji flash-stepped next to him, grinning as he asked, "Oh really, Kurosaki-san? A new technique? And you developed it all on your own it seems... There may be hope for you yet!"

"The hell is that supposed to mean you freak?" Ichigo asked irately.

Shinji merely shrugged and turned away. Looking back over his shoulder, he said to Ichigo with a serious look, "Kurosaki, I hope you don't entertain any illusions of remaining a substitute Shinigami forever. You're much better than that, and everyone knows it."

With that, he flash-stepped out of the training grounds, leaving Ichigo to wonder what the hell he'd been getting at.

* * *

"Ah, shit! This is cold!"

Renji whined as the freezing substance went in his mouth, hurting his teeth like a punch to the jaw. Which, oddly enough, is exactly what he got next.

"Baka! Watch your language in public. Mandy is a nice girl and does not need to be tainted by your foul mouth!" Rukia growled, her fist raised in the air as if to warn of another attack.

Mandy blushed behind her ice-cream counter. "It's alright, Kuchiki-san, I- I'm not bothered by it. Ano... Did you want your usual?"

Rukia turned away from glaring at Renji and put a big smile on as she ordered. "Yes, please. Strawberry!" she said, ignoring the curious look her friend gave. So what if she liked strawberry? It was tasty!

Mandy finished scooping the ice-cream into the cone and handed it off to Rukia, giving a knowing smile that was lost on the petite shinigami. "Take care Kuchiki-san! Goodbye Abarai-san, enjoy your ice-cream! Remember to keep coming back," she waved, "and don't forget to tell everyone about me!"

Rukia smiled and waved as they departed, kicking Renji in the shin til he did likewise. They started off towards Urahara's shop to check on Ichigo's training progress, since he was their only source of news on the matter. She really did miss having him around, for fighting hollows and protecting the town. And their arguments. And his smile. _Wait. No. Not his smile. That's weird, right?_

When they reached the shop they saw Jinta outside ordering Ururu to sweep up some garbage while he sat in the shade. Rukia took the opportunity to sneak up behind him and grab his ear to drag him into the sun. "Don't order little girls around, Jinta! Do the work yourself, I have a feeling Urahara told _you_ to clean up this mess anyways." she ordered. Jinta's retaliatory curses were shut up by a swift kick in the rear from Renji, who added, "Hey you little brat, do your freaking work already and stop whining! Geez, I've heard little girls that bitch more than you do."

"Hey! They do not! I don't bitch! Who the hell are you to talk, Freeloader-san?" the red-headed boy shouted, even as the pair walked inside to speak with Urahara. He didn't notice the large shadow growing behind him until it was too late. He heard what sounded like gravel being put in a blender, and realized who had just cleared their throat. Turning around with a look of fear, he stammered, "T-Tessai?"

Inside the shop, Rukia and Renji could barely hear the sounds of Jinta's spanking at the hands of the massive shop helper. Barely. They were seated at a table with Urahara, who had made tea for them.

"So," he began, sipping his Oolong carefully. "You wish to check up on Kurosaki-san, am I right?"

Rukia nodded and elbowed Renji for yawning, who immediately nodded as he clutched his ribs. "Yep, that's, er... why we're here, I guess." he grumbled, then added under his breath, "Fucking strawberry."

Urahara looked at the two of them, his hat low over his eyes to hide his expression. "Hmmm..."

"Well, I can say that Ichigo is doing well. His hollow is yet to be released, but Shinji last called about twenty minutes ago to inform me that our friend has developed a new attack."

Renji scoffed, "About time. Dumbass only had the one technique... Gesherga Texo or whatever..."

Rukia closed her eyes and sipped her tea as she goaded him. "It's Getsuga Tenshou, baka. And isn't that what he used to beat you? Twice, I think it was?"

Renji glowered at his short friend. "Damn, Rukia, you sure know how to hit a guy right in his pride."

"And you sure know how to lose a fight." Rukia retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. Turning to Urahara, she asked, "Please, what is this new attack?"

"I haven't a clue! Shinji is such a secretive fellow... I'm afraid you'll just have to wait until they're done with him to ask for details about his training. Oh, I _do _know that it's incredibly powerful, and is nothing like his Getsuga Tenshou. Much like your final dance, Kuchiki-san, it sounds to be nothing like previously seen techniques."

"Hmph, well I bet he'll use that one too much too."

"Renji?"

"Yeah, Rukia?"

-WHOMP- "Shut up."

"What? I'm just saying..."

* * *

**A/N: Ichigo's new attack is basically "Earth Piercing Moonfang". He pumps energy into Zangetsu, and uses the earth as a channel to blast opponents with the power from below rather than slicing them. This is basically for opponents that move too quickly to slice, or have a strong enough hierro to protect against a Getsuga Tenshou.**

**This story will remain as canon as possible, and I will be including the Final Getsuga Tenshou as soon as Kubo tells us what that looks like and what it does.**


End file.
